Geordie Greep released the divisive first single “Holy, Holy” from his new solo project “The New Sound”. Charlotte Foulkes tells us all about it.
The other week Geordie Greep confirmed what we’d all been wondering—"it’s iver," he wrote. With that mistyped Instagram comment, the future of black midi was sealed. Bassist Cameron Picton later also confirmed the breakup rumours. But, when one door closes, another couple open - in the form of Picton’s solo project Camera Picture, and Greep’s solo album announcement - audaciously named “The New Sound”. Recorded in London and Sáo Paulo in a range of studios with a vast array of musicians, Greep detailed his ambitious project in a post - calling it “extremely gratifying”.
His first offering is the 6-minute-long single Holy, Holy - and it really seems to have polarised the midi fans. It is accompanied by a music video of him at a bowling alley, dancing and singing into the camera. Utter insanity or total genius? The jury is still out, but I've been intently mulling this over since its release. Having listened to it over 60 times, I think I can finally give my thoughts.
Upon first listen, like many other fans, I hated it. It was chaotic, weird, and most of all, sounded like a theatrical Disney-Villain-introduction-song (if it was an R-Rated Disney film). Crude lyrics and a mishmash of genres, it seemed messy. Forgive the metaphor, but it felt like musically blending up an entire breakfast (cereal, eggs, toast, coffee, fruit) into one dish and hoping it would taste as good as its individual parts. Bongos and glam rock guitar riffs and choral backing singers paired with dissonant screams and Greep’s musical-theatre narrative singing felt like he had 10 different song ideas and decided to save time and throw them into one. I was prepared to write a pretty damning review, though I'm now fascinated by how something seemed to click, and my brain has done a 180 on it.
It opens with an overwhelming, fast-paced, distorted guitar which then makes way for some riffs and a virtuosic guitar solo. It subsides to laid-back drums and Steely-Dan-esque guitar strums, allowing for Greep’s lyrics as he sets the scene of speaking to a woman in a bar. Accompanied by piano chords and sultry saxophone embellishments, he begins arrogantly - saying that “I knew I’d have you with ease” from seeing this woman’s makeup, hair, clothing, and the way she sat down and ordered her drink. He alludes to his intentions with her through a line of questioning - implying that she is some sort of escort or a lady about town:
“Do you come here often?
Do you know how this thing works?
Do you go to bed with a different man every night?
Don't tell me, I'm the first?”
The chorus depicts himself as quite a celebrity - “Everyone knows my name, Everyone knows I’m Holy” alongside some rhythm guitars and backing vocals repeating the title ‘Holy, Holy’. He is reaching Kanye West levels of blasphemy here with the claims to divinity.
With a delayed sax note echoing, it enters into a Latin groove, with the “Holy Holy” chants increasing. With Bongos now involved, Greep goes back into the theatrical singing, letting the listener know just how much of a Casanova he is - having ‘had’ all the barmaids before, and adds a cheeky line “you are new, I'll have you too”. The samba groove gets swapped for the same opening aggressive, dissonant guitar strums which erupts into another chorus with rhythm guitar, high-pitched riffs and triumphant trumpets. He explains more of his intentions with her - to “dance some salsa, I’ll spin you round and round” - and then becomes cruder: “I'll meet you in the bathroom, I bet your pussy is holy too” which made me wince.
The minimal Latin groove re-enters to bridge the song into an instrumental section with a scream from Greep. This part includes even more guitar riffs and rhythmic low backing vocals. The next section morphs into a full-on musical theatre bridge, featuring more melodic instrumentation and playful, tongue-in-cheek lyrics:
“I want you to be dressed like a sophisticated tart
With too much makeup on, will that be alright?”
These demands set out their arrangement for the evening - and the repeated line “how much will that cost?” shatters his Casanova image, revealing himself as someone who must pay for this female’s attention. It adds context into the rest of the song as the overly confident image starts to seem less cocky. He reveals that he doesn’t actually have sexual intentions with her in the bathroom:
“We'll just loiter there fifteen minutes or so
Then I'll choose your new lipstick, and we'll walk back out”
As he makes more requests in the last verse of this song, his demands reduce from sexual favours to simply wanting her hand on his knee, to just look at him as if she’s lost. This part has backing vocals and seems a lot more melodious and sweet. This candour seems to offset the crudeness of the first half of the song, making one sort of pity this ‘Casanova’. He ends by thanking her, and agreeing to repeat this next week, and the one after, as the song fades out (quite an unexpected, anticlimactic ending for such a wild song).
This ‘charade’ of a womaniser is reinforced in the farcical music video, whereby a suited-up Geordie Greep is at the bowling alley, drinking and dancing. No matter how many cocktails he seems to be drinking - he scores a perfect strike every time. As the video progresses, the editing gets more obvious, as you see the ball going nowhere near the centre, then Greep steps in front of the shot, and by the time he’s moved aside, all the pins are knocked down. At the end of the bowling segment the camera rolls down the lane to reveal the pins are suspended by wires - therefore reiterating the charade. This editing is a genius comical way of showing the irony intended through his song and solidifies it as a well-made storyline.
While I could go on, I won’t. I think this theatrical side has always played a part in Greep’s music throughout black midi, but this is it on steroids. While it may not suit everyone, true originality rarely comes from trying to please everyone. The name of his project as ‘The New Sound’ might seem an extension of this cocky act, however I think he has bravely pushed the boat out and these musical explorations of genre-fusion and dissonance make for an incredibly exciting listen. Even after countless listens, the song remains anything but stale—there’s always something new to unpick, which is why it’s taken me so long to wrap my head around it.
The New Sound releases on the 4th of October, with 11 tracks, and I am incredibly eager to hear what else he has come up with.
Charlotte Foulkes
Video courtesy of Geordie Greep's Youtube
Edited by Ross Williams