I can’t imagine many people had Geordie Greep, frontman of experimental London four-piece black midi, haphazardly announce that the band was “indefinitely over” on their 2024 music bingo card. Reports of a solo album from the enthralling figurehead was a more plausible proposition after a busy five years filled with three studio albums (one Mercury Prize nominated) and an exhaustive touring schedule. Having been blindsided by their demise, fans were consoled with the news of Greep’s impending debut solo album, The New Sound.
One of the chief elements of black midi’s recorded material that Greep shuffled away from with his solo effort was the feeling of being unceremoniously plunged to the depths of hell (in the best possible way) in their unrelenting instrumentation. Here, more often than not, these eleven tracks actually invite you to dance and get swept-up in the romanticism of its lighter moments. Try to resist the ravishing guitar riff of ‘As If Waltz’ or the propulsive disco-tinge to the LP’s lead (and solitary) single ‘Holy, Holy’. In tone and temperament, The New Sound predominantly exists in a plush hotel bar adorned with gold sprayed features, waiters wearing white gloves, a sleepy pianist propped up in the corner accompanied by Greep delivering seedy songs about lounge lizards (“I want you to dress like a sophisticated tart with no make-up on, would that be alright”), acerbic slights at an impenetrable (and, unfortunately, all too recognisable) pseudo-intellectual poet who pens sonnets in the park, and a brash reminder to “check your balls for lumps”.
The lyrical material, as one would expect from Greep, is verbose, amusing, unsavoury and unpredictable. Tales of pathetic characters in dismal settings are impossible to turn away from, especially when delivered in a fervent Jacques Brel manner. Theatre is as integral to The New Sound’s essence and success as a body of work as the ambitious orchestration, made possible by the contributions of over 30 session musicians. These are detailed sketches shaded with the bleakness of a Mike Leigh film contrasted with the bombast and colour of beloved household-named musicals. It makes sense on some level that Greep would make something that feels like an amalgamation of Sister Act and Tommy on the tropicalia-infused title track. On a more expected note, Steely Dan is well represented in the smooth grooves of ‘Walk Up’ and ‘Through A War’, while the Mothers of Invention also feature as a recurring reference point.
However, it’s the tender moments in The New Sound’s final act where Greep’s exaggerated characters are replaced with an endearing plea on ‘If You Are But A Dream’. A wistful brass-led highlight that makes you question whether it’s a Vera Lynn cover rather than a Greep original as he sweetly bellows, “I’m so afraid that you would vanish in the air / So, darling if our romance should break up / I hope I never wake up”. It serves as a reminder of Greep’s ability to display vulnerability, albeit in his own way.
Thematic and tonal dexterity accounted for, The New Sound is undeniably an entertaining body of work which highlights Greep’s strengths as a singular songwriter and performer. However, there are instances (the bizarre final minute of ‘Walk Up’) where Greep throws too many ideas at one song, resulting in misaligned structures. It’s apparent that Greep revelled in the independence this record afforded him, however returning to black midi’s masterful works, you immediately feel the power of their creative synergy as a whole having more impact. It also illuminates that there’s a difference between letting-go and losing one’s way.
