Grant-Lee Phillips – Strangelet
Following the demise of Grant Lee Buffalo, the nearly eponymous Grant-Lee Phillips’ solo work showed a marked departure from the sounds we knew him for up to that point. Mobilize was a fuzzy, atmospheric album with all sorts of moody electronica, and Virginia Creeper was a nostalgic American folk gem.
Strangelet, his latest, has been released to pretty much no fanfare at all and I have barely come across any write-ups anywhere. Am I the only one to love his solo work? Do the rest of you really not care? Well, if you don’t already, I doubt this is the best place to start. Of all his solo work this is the most Buffaloid, and perhaps as a consequence the one I like the least. It actually seems to me to be a little devoid of direction. It’s not energetic enough to be rock, nor chilled enough to be melancholy. There’s none of the traditional or electronic influences he has been dabbling in thus far, and I can’t really see what the driving force behind the album really is.
That said, Mr. Phillips can still write a decent tune, so there are some good tracks, but if you are looking to get into his work I would really recommend starting elsewhere – Mobilize or Virginia Creeper, probably. Try some of the songs below to choose your poison:
Grant-Lee Phillips – Hidden Hand From Strangelet
Grant Lee Phillips – Killing a Dead Man From Strangelet
Grant-Lee Phillips – I Wish I Knew From Virginia Creeper
Grant-Lee Phillips – Sadness Soot From Mobilize
Grant Lee Buffalo – Come to Mama, She Say From Jubilee
i don’t know if you get “the gilmore girls” television show in the UK, but i suspect there are a whole host of americans who are only familiar with mr. phillips because of his recurring role as the town busker(?) and the bits of music he plays throughout the soundtrack. which are quite good, btw.
Is it on a par with Andrew Bird’s appearance as Dr Stringz?
Matthew,
Excellent spot on this one, I was unaware of this new one being out. Thanks, good tunes!
I would recommend Ladies Love Oracle, which was the first solo Grant Lee Philips project post-Buffalo, I think. It is a very quiet but tuneful and at times ethereal album.
I am only half convinced by Ladies Love Oracle myself. I love Squint and a couple of others, but at times I find it a little flat.
i just watched andrew bird as dr. stringz via youtube, and i’d have to say no, not quite like that! glp usually just hangs out on streetcorners and sings as the girls pass by.
As do I, my darling, as do I…!
(Dr Stringz. = Genius, mind! Thank you Marcy.)