Powerpop CD Review: The Gripweeds’ Inner Grooves

Kurt Reil and The Gripweeds regularly produce some of the best psyche-pop on the planet and, over the past few years, have given us some great Christmas powerpop releases as well. This holiday season, Kurt & co. give us Inner Grooves, a collection of unreleased tracks and rare B-sides that, unlike many such collections, is more than worthy of our attention.

The Gripweeds surprise me every time I hear them, but not because their sound changes much.

Imagine throwing The Byrds, The Who, The Zombies, and the Smithereens in a blender and them turning from “high” to “really wasted”. That’s the Gripweeds. Their style doesn’t change, they just keep getting better and better at what they do. So why re-record old demos as opposed to moving on to the next project?

“Remixing some of the songs on Inner Grooves was like looking at an old picture of yourself, except you get to go back there, inhabit the same space you were in and soak up the vibes of that moment in an interactive way.” – Kurt Reil

For a hodge-podge of stragglers that were originally conceived of and recorded over 20 years of time, this collection hangs together remarkably well. Among the highlights: “She Don’t Care About Time”, a Gene Clark composition that would please even the most discriminating Byrds fan, the jangle-pop of “Nothing Lasts Forever”, and the UK only B-side, “It’ll Never Be Me”.

From what I understand, Inner Grooves has enabled the band to take a brief hiatus before they move on to their next full length new one, so don’t worry. There is another new on in the works for 2014.