The Gloomies begs the question, “Are we getting better?”

The Gloomies
ARE WE GETTING BETTER?
Self Released

Links: Facebook

I feel a little dirty. Did I just pick up Andy Craig’s journal, and now I am ten pages in? Should I close it up and walk away? The thing with ARE WE GETTING BETTER? is that I feel a connection to the band’s musical output. These lyrics are crafted to cut into the paper cuts of the human spirit. “Voice Memo 004” is that moment where you step outside of your body and view this world with an alien perspective. Are we getting better? Are we? This is The Gloomies’ Pensees, and I want to listen on.

A lot of the music on this album looks to the soberness of the night to philosophically ponder life’s mountainous questions. “DNTGTBTTR” has that post drunk dive bar sway nestled under a fluorescent canopy of regret and honesty. Yet, this therapy is just what The Gloomies best dole out. A little R&B filters in with “Nightlight” or “Sideways” gives off residue from the influences of their sun-soaked California landscape. There is an upswing to their beat here that gets the juices flowing without going out of their way.

ARE WE GETTING BETTER? feels natural, be it a somber moment or a beach breeze contemplation (“Calm Now” really nails this vibrancy). I love the echo that creates a certain dreamy distance to their sound. Craig pulls from the slow roll of people like Geoff Farina and incorporates that deep and meticulous writing that stems from ‘60s soul. This album is a relationship worth developing because it is honest, and it is real.

Track List:

1. Intro
2. Moonlight
3. Voice Memo 004
4. DNTGTBTTR
5. Nightlight
6. Voice Memo 002
7. Sunflower Pollen
8. S P 2
9. Sick Like You (feat. Jade Ill)
10. Mess We Made
11. Sideways
12. Calm Now
13. Voice Memo 005