CD Review- Grand Hotel

Rockers deliver high-energy pop among silly moments

Posted on Feb. 23, 2011, at 10:52 p.m.

One of the best parts of Grand Hotel’s “In Color” comes at the very end during the song “Thanks!” As the band plays out, lead singer Kyle Gervais repeatedly spits out “thanks to you”s of varying sincerity, while others saying “thank you” can be heard in the background.

It’s a warm and fuzzy moment where the band seems to be having a party in the studio — there’s even the faint sound of a cigarette being lit.

But as it fades out, there’s the distinct sound of a fart, most likely from some sort of horn. It makes for a fitting end to an album filled with some wonderful musical moments tarnished by some downright silliness and extravagance.

On the follow-up to their self-titled debut, Portland’s Grand Hotel are able to bridge the gaps between pop styles spanning ’80s new wave, ’90s rock and 2000s indie. Their music is a splattering of hooks and grooves hand-picked from the charts over the last few decades, yet still uniquely all their own.

However, such an eclectic mix of influences makes for a rather disjointed album experience. There are ambient sound collages (“Tenderloin”) next to falsetto-laced disco ballads that channel Electric Six (“Denise”). The album inexplicably opens with an eight-minute indie pop jam, though this type of sound never returns.

Song by song, Grand Hotel excel. The production — done by the band and recorded by their drummer Aaron Lachance — is magnificent. Crisp and professional only touches the surface of these songs, which are full of intricate layers and parts. This is a marked improvement from their first album.

These production techniques really shine on songs like “I Gotta New Message” and lead single “Walken,” arguably the best tracks.

“Message” is an upbeat ode to ’80s synth pop and it couldn’t be more fun. The slight reverb on Gervais’ voice as he sings, “You used to talk like you were famous,” makes for just the right amount of old and new. There’s a definite similarity in his voice to fellow Portland popster Kurt Baker, with whom Grand Hotel shared a bill on Tuesday for the album’s release party.

“Walken” is a hard-edged dose of the kind of artistic sincerity close-knit scenes breed. The lyrics drive this standard small-town guitar rock anthem as Gervais sings, “What would happen if we actually ditched this city?”

The heart of this album spans tracks two through six, which by themselves would make a wonderful EP. Grand Hotel hit their stride on the cerebral instrumental interlude “Go Go Gadget Gorgeous.” The angular “Boomboomboom” and slinky “Body Touch” are the first to capture the band’s sexual undertones, but they aren’t disgustingly overt and the metaphors work.

It’s on the second half of the album where Grand Hotel retreat into a single bag of tricks. Musically the effort is still obvious, but songs about girls grow tiresome fast. “Learn2Dance” comes off as more of a joke, especially when compared to “Boomboomboom,” where they do a decent job at the “take-you-home-tonight” song. The bedroom tracks are further marginalized by Gervais’ tendency to slip into a gritty rock star voice, like on “Denise.”

If Grand Hotel are simply about having fun and making danceable music, they have certainly succeeded on “In Color.” But their dissonant instrumental tracks and ability to use such complex instrumentation make me think they’ve got a higher purpose. They’re great musicians and Gervais is a convincing vocalist when he’s singing about more than the vixen at the bar.

I’d like to say “thanks” in advance for leaving the fart sounds off the next album.

Grade: B-

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011, 10:52 pm. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.