Ghormeh Sabzi
Cupcake EP
Paper Stamp; 2010
When I first heard the music of Ghormeh Sabzi last year, I found myself really digging on the group’s off-kilter, fuzzed-out take on mid-period Animal Collective. More importantly though, I openly wondered how Cameron Bina would be able to convert the one-man band approach of Cockroach Graveyard into a decent live setup that would allow the music to breathe. With the Cupcake EP, the listener is allowed a glimpse into just how Bina might tweak his sound and format in answer to my concern.
What follow is something much less overtly AnCo, and much more of the breezy, somewhat wacky ‘60s-meets-‘00s indie-rock methodology we’ve been hearing for the past couple of years in certain hipster circles. These five songs feature swathes of the off-kilter, discordant, and discombobulated sort of dreamy, beach pop music championed by acts such as Atlas Sound, Wavves, and Girls. Tracks like “Hey Curls” and “Tidal Wave” are laden with squawking vocals and syncopated rhythms, while a reconstituted (and better, in my personal opinion) version of “Cokehead Catholic” anchors the entire project.
Unfortunately, I don’t think that the Cupcake EP is nearly as compelling as Cockroach Graveyard, mostly because it doesn’t feel as adventurous or forward thinking. This record is certainly more accessible, as there is a more obvious focus to its pop structures, but these sounds simply comes across as too familiar, especially since it has a great many contemporaries in the current musical scene.
That being said, this is by no means some stale, boring take on current musical trends. Bina and friends have taken great pains to put their personal Texas/Third Coast stamp on a style that has been dominated by bands on the coasts. Count me as a fan of Ghormeh Sabzi – I only attempt to provide constructive criticism because I want good music from the Houston, TX area to succeed and be discovered by the rest of the world.