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22. City Club - The Growlers (2016)

Beach Goth

The Growlers sound like absolutely no one else. They’ve been historically tough to nail down to any specific genre and have even inspired the instantiation of a new one, beach goth, which doesn’t make sense until you listen to them, at which point it becomes obvious, and perfectly fitting. Whereas the Arctic Monkeys embody ultimate “coolness” in a traditional sense, The Growlers embody the undeniable coolness of being completely disinterested in being cool.

City Club is the band’s fifth album. It’s probably their most accessible, crafted with what vaguely resembles pop inclinations. It’s unclear the degree to which drugs, specifically heroin, actually influenced the making of the album, but there’s a murky stupor permeating throughout. At times, like on the hypnotic dull throb of “Vacant Lot”, it’s pretty obviously dictating the pace and flavor of the music. But it does so awesomely. The track feels woozy as it sludges along, relating the story of a man fiending for his next fix. The drug influence is also abundant on the standout track “I’ll Be Around”, a defiant rejection of an intervention. The album exudes counter-culture rebelliousness while feeling somewhat apathetic about exuding anything at all. The sleepy surfer jam “Dope on a Rope” feels familiar, as if sung through a tin can and string. Even in its half-sedatedness, the album manages to evoke a range of nostalgic feelings that can’t quite be pinned down or placed. 

*image; cover art for the album City Club by The Growlers