Having released their self-titled debut album in 2019, Pattern-Seeking Animals already have five albums under their belt. The keyboard player and composer John Boegehold, previously known for his contribution to songwriting in Spock’s Beard, appears to be the driving force behind the band’s prolificness. Several months after last year’s “Friend of All Creatures” was released, there was already chatter about the drums for the sixth album being recorded. On August 21st, the album is being released under the name “Grimalkin”.
Within the first couple of minutes of the album’s opener and the first single “Maybe All a Dream”, the band demonstrates that, despite being on their sixth release, they haven’t necessarily settled for using familiar sounds that can already be heard on their previous releases. The tone of the opening guitar lines is distorted in a fresh and intriguing way, while the subsequent theme features a unique, somewhat piercing keyboard patch. It’s only once the powerful drums and gnarly bass lines kick in that the song leans into a signature Pattern-Seeking Animals rhythm that the fans of the band grew to love.
Pattern-Seeking Animals stood out early on as a band that doesn’t shy away from delivering concisely structured songs that clock in under five minutes as a counterpart to the expected prog rock epicness. “Traveler on the Wrong Road Home” was also released in advance as one of the singles and harkens back in its directness and rhythm to “No One Ever Died and Made Me King”, even though it lacks a larger chorus to elevate it in terms of impactfulness that a single sometimes requires.
Among the shorter songs, “Jade Sky” is one of the standout tracks. Jimmy Keegan is the star of the song with his detailed and busy playing within a song that doesn’t necessarily call for it. This approach influences the guitar plucking that is equally sharp and focused on staccato, which gives the entire song a specific percussive atmosphere. The two shortest songs on the album are irresistibly beautiful and tuneful, while also appearing to be two sides of the same coin lyrically. Whereas “Things I Don’t Do” laments an eternity without love, “I Dream the World” comes across as a celebration of an eternal love.
Meanwhile, “Break Away” marries accessibility and adventurousness by relying on odd meters throughout a familiarly structured composition driven by an infectious chorus. It would have also been one of the shorter songs on the album had it not been crowned by an outro in which Dave Meros, John, and Ted take turns on their respective instruments in delivering one of the record’s noteworthy motifs. The song “Slowly Falls the Flying Man” also features several memorable themes that are established within the intro and then reprised throughout the rest of the composition in several variations, though the song does feel overly familiar both in terms of its melodies and grooves.
The highlight of the album can be found in “A Flower Yet to Grow”. From the dramatic opening phrase to the high-pitched snare sound and a Pink Floyd-inspired bridge, this song is filled with surprises, yet at the same time manages to groove and rely on striking melodies. It is also Ted Leonard’s tour de force on the record. Not only does he provide some gut-wrenchingly high vocal lines, but he also delivers a guitar solo that reminds us of his outstanding guitar chops that he doesn’t show off too often.
“Grimalkin” is an album that entertains as much as it sedates the listener. Some of the songs grab your attention with a memorable chorus or a notable keyboard passage, while others demand your focus in order to fully grasp the complexity of the presented music. Not a lot of bands walk the fine line between directness and intricacy, but Pattern-Seeking Animals most certainly do. “Grimalkin” is yet another record within their discography that manages to accomplish that balance.
1. Maybe All A Dream
2. A Flower Yet To Grow
3. Jade Sky
4. Things I Don’t Do
5. Break Away
6. Traveler On The Wrong Road Home
7. Slowly Falls The Flying Man
8. I Dream The World
PATTERN-SEEKING ANIMALS ARE:
TED LEONARD
JOHN BOEGEHOLD
DAVE MEROS
JIMMY KEEGAN
PATTERN-SEEKING ANIMALS online:
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