English singer, songwriter, guitarist, and all-around showman Geordie Greep’s The New Sound is phenomenal in every way. Produced by Seth “Shank” Evans between recording studios in London and São Paulo, Greep’s debut solo album borrows elements of Latin jazz and Brazilian samba and mixes them with progressive rock.
The New Sound stands out as a stark departure from Greep’s work with his ex-band Black Midi while also serving as a natural progression of his previous musical style. Hailing from the British Recording Industry Trust School in London (or BRIT), Greep formed Black Midi with guitarist Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin and drummer Morgan Simpson in 2017, quickly joined by bassist Cameron Picton. They first gained notoriety at the Windmill in Brixton, a pub and live music venue known for launching the careers of various modern post-punk bands such as Black Country, New Road.
Greep’s run as the band’s frontman was primarily characterized by his erratic vocal delivery and eloquent yet playful lyrics detailing entertaining narratives, which still stands out on The New Sound. Alejandro Zepeda ‘28 stated, “Once you get used to Geordie Greep’s voice, you really understand how good it is. It’s a really great album.”
Black Midi officially announced their “indefinite hiatus” in the summer of 2024, following a string of shows in SoCal and South America at the end of 2023 and the announcement of Greep’s solo debut, The New Sound.
The album is written from the perspective of numerous characters based on men Greep met while going out, drinking at clubs, and conveying varying degrees of desperation, a focal point of the album. This is especially apparent in the singles Holy, Holy and Blues, which tell the stories of apparently grandiose, confident men who, under their outer personas, are shallow, insecure, and insignificant. These narrators are often self-pitying, as displayed on tracks like Terra and Walk Up, and narcissistic, as seen in Through a War and Motorbike. The penultimate track, The Magician, is a 12-minute epic describing someone who has completely lost control of their emotional insecurities and inferiority complexes.
While the lyrics of these songs come across as negative or fatalistic, most of the record is intended as a biting satire on the “manosphere,” a diverse collection of misogynistic communities who, in their efforts to promote their supposed masculinity, actually invalidate it with their low views of women.
While this may lead some listeners to misinterpret the meaning of the lyrics and take some of the dodgy synopses literally, it is important to consider that Greep ultimately wrote the album as a criticism of these self-aggrandizing misogynists.
The album was highly acclaimed upon release but didn’t come without critics. “Greep’s lyricism combined with his comedic singing style often comes across as kitschy. I think his singing was better suited for the idiosyncratic style of Black Midi,” stated Lucas Garcia ‘25.
Ultimately, like every great musical work, The New Sound is sure to be polarizing to many, but its merits cannot be ignored. From the album’s unique fusion of genres to its wonderful depiction of incredible musicianship, The New Sound is not an album for music enthusiasts to sleep on.
