The Growlers’ Natural Affair neglects all that once made them great

On October 25th, 2019 The Growlers released their latest album, Natural Affair, as if to tell listeners that, yes, they did indeed peek in 2014 and it has been all downhill from there. It lacks the luster of their original sound, foregoing their well-known blend of surf-rock style and misfit image that their early albums encapsulated.

Beginning in August, they previewed the album’s release with several singles, such as the title track “Natural Affair.” From the get-go, this song fastens itself as an outlier from previous work with a quite poppy style and far more repetitive arrangement than any of their other songs. It does somewhat resemble the style of one of their previous albums, City Club (2016), but the cliché lyrical choices on it are far different than any of their other work. They followed with the release of “Foghorn Town,” which freakishly resembled the first. This lack of diversity between songs is unlike their usual artistic capabilities and may just expose how pigeonholed their style has become. “Try Hard Fool” only extended this issue, continuing the far too similar lyrical style and rhythm. The last of the singles was “Pulp of Youth,” which surprisingly provided me with some grain of hope. The guitar riffs and vocal quality seemed to allude to some of their previous work, providing some relief that not all of their old style has been lost. 

As I listen through the album, I can’t help but feel as though I’m listening to the soundtrack of some high school, teen beach movie, laden with advice for an angsty tween. Lyrics such as “Everything you need is in your smile” and “Wipe your heart off/ Make room for love” are sentimental and corny with a pop-esque fashion they’ve never released before. To worsen the blow of these lyrics, Brooks Nielson’s voice seems to be edited in a more clean-cut fashion that completely compromises his well-known raspy, chain-smoker sound. These songs leave me desperately longing for the funky lyrical choices of previous songs like “Acid Rain,” and masterfully heart-wrenching songs like “Wet Dreams.”

It would be a grave mistake to deem this entire album a lost cause; it still has several tracks that come across as hybrids of their older and newer styles. Even if some of the songs don’t reflect their classic sound, they still possess a noteworthy style none-the-less. “Truly” provides some of the more chill vibes among the album with sultry vocal tones, while carrying a beautifully synth-heavy chorus. “Social Man” is another well worth your time, for it blends their newer instrumental and harmonic mixes, yet still has lyrics reminiscent of past songs. These songs also bring on similar grooves to older albums, making it difficult to fully shun them. 

Back in 2016, Julian Casablancas, frontman of The Strokes, took The Growlers under his wing and guided the production of the album, City Club. It was with this album that so much of their unique style was tossed out the window. Casablancas’ intervention was profoundly apparent through the loss of their original reverb and surf-rock style, replaced with more clean-cut and corny songs. Since then, they released Casual Acquaintances (2018), which did somewhat hold the integrity of their older work through several funky tracks like “Drop Your Phone In the Sink” and “Decoy Face.” But it still didn’t proportionately compare to the masterpieces like Are You In Or Out? (2009) or Hung At Heart (2013). The release of this last album just perpetuated that lack of original style, exposing Casablancas’ lingering influence.

I was able to catch some of these songs live recently on November 2nd at one of The Growler’s three recent Beach Goth Halloween shows at the Hollywood Palladium. They rightfully opened with many classic crowd favorites, like “Monotonia” and “Acid Rain.” But they were, of course, still sure to throw in at least two new pieces, playing “Try Hard Fool” and “Social Man.” Leading into the second song, Nielson commented, “Well excuse me for wanting to play the new shit ‘cause it already feels like old shit to me.” 

Within the mix of all of their older numbers, I was pleasantly surprised to find them blending well into the band’s overall musical flavor. These numbers didn’t seem out of place in the least amongst many of my personal favorite songs played live, but that does not excuse how out of place they sound on their recorded discography. 

As The Growlers continue to trek on and produce new work over the coming years, I truly hope they will stray from this new path and find their way back to their nonconformist style. The Growlers have been the fathers of Beach Goth style, so to see it cast over with these last few albums is disheartening. I typically would support any artist experimenting with different styles and sounds, for it often produces incredible new things audiences weren’t expecting. In this case, experimenting with these new sounds seems like it’s only compromising the soul of their music. If we’re all lucky enough, sense will smack them upside the head and return them to their roots. 

Article by  Natalie Gott