Having cemented their status as one of the most in-demand live rock acts of their generation and having sold more than one million tickets worldwide with over 250 sold-out shows to date across five continents – including selling out every one of their headlining shows for the past two years, Greta Van Fleet return with their third album ‘Starcatcher’.
For anyone that’s been to a Greta Van Fleet show the last few years, you’ll know that they bring a sense of raucous energy to the stage and in order to build and maintain that throughout this record, the band decided to track it live. This gives the album a very organic feel showcasing how the quartet have evolved over the years. Saying that, the album harks back to the roots of the band when Josh Kiszka (vocals); his twin brother, Jake Kiszka (guitar); their younger brother Sam Kiszka (bass/keyboards); and friend Danny Wagner (drums) would be playing in their parents garage in Frankenmuth, Michigan.
‘The whole concept for Starcatcher, even before it had a name, was, “let’s take it back to the beginning. Let’s capture that same energy”. We’re going back to our roots while moving forward at the same time.’
‘Starcatcher’s’ production, headed by Grammy winner Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell), is more stripped-down than that of the 2021 release ‘The Battle at Garden’s Gate’, allowing the instrumentation to shine. This can be heard from the opening track ‘Fate Of The Faithful’ which is a blend of classic rock with hints of blues with Jake Kiszka blurring lines between Jimmy Page and Stevie Ray Vaughn, all whilst keeping his own identity as a guitarist. You wouldn’t expect anything other than strong musicianship from the band these days though which continues throughout the ten track offering. Take the album’s haunting, elegiac first single, ‘Meeting the Master’, which at first pairs rich, wistful acoustic guitars with Josh’s yearning vocals, before blooming into a classic Greta Van Fleet rock ‘n’ roll anthem with a majestic guitar solo and pummelling drums.
Previously released ‘The Falling Sky’ and ‘Sacred the Thread’ are foot tapping, head nodding anthems which portray the bands ability to work effortlessly together in the moment. In lieu of bringing in fully-formed songs for the album, Greta Van Fleet instead brought an outline of basic structures, concepts and ideas and came up with arrangements in the studio.
‘It sounds more like something’s dropped out of the sky, and you’ve caught it, versus having this preconceived idea of how you’re strategically going to navigate writing and production. When we went in, it was like all of a sudden things just started firing off’, Josh says. ‘Everybody was able to put the music together fairly quickly’.
Although it only lasts for one minute and seventeen seconds, ‘Runway Blues’ is an album highlight. Without being at a live show, this short blast gives the listener a chance to hear Greta Van Fleet’s desire to put all of their energy and showmanship into each and every song. Potentially the loudest and most dynamically intense of the record, it will make a great live interlude.
‘We wanted to keep it very true to our stage sound and make the music easy to recreate’, Wagner says. ‘We wanted to focus on the writing so that the instruments speak for themselves’.
‘The Indigo Streak’ oozes with tinges of 70’s psychedelia, it’s harmonised vocals sat amongst a well designed soundscape. Guitars are panned nicely in the mix and throughout the album you’ll hear well placed textural additions via synths and B-Bender guitar tricks.
Jake admits that the members of Greta Van Fleet have such tight musical chemistry, producers can sometimes have difficulty finding where they fit into studio sessions. Cobb, however, was a seamless addition. ’Dave is a chameleon. He helped us get from point A to point B without reducing or diluting our own voices’.
Among other things, Cobb secretly recorded the band as they were working through their ideas and these demos eventually became the foundational album tracks, because they captured Greta Van Fleet in such an ideal, relaxed state. ‘He taught us to trust ourselves a lot more’, Wagner says. ‘We historically take so much time and are hard on ourselves in a lot of ways. He took all of that insecurity and threw it out the window’. Perhaps this is a product of being in the Nashville arena with so much music coming out of the part of the world, do bands feel the need to be overly picky with their own music? However, what Greta Van Fleet have come out with is a true testament to letting the music flow.
‘Frozen Light’ is one for the guitarists with a striking lick opening up the floor and it manages to capture the nuances of Jake’s playing, most of it coming from his iconic Gibson SG’s. His lightly overdriven tone lends nicely to his style and reflects back to their earlier rock influences.
Album closer ‘Farewell For Now’ is a relaxed end to the offering from the four piece. Saying that, there is still a searing guitar solo courtesy of Jake Kiszka to close out the record. The band have managed to create mountainous, yet reflective and emotive music throughout ‘Starcatcher’ and although there will be the already expected comparisons to Led Zeppelin, it doesn’t feel like that matters to the band, hell, they’re giants of rock now. The record manages to capture two sides of the band, the thrill of their live shows as well as their mystical and deeper approach to songwriting behind closed doors. Greta Van Fleet’s different but complementary personalities have contributed to the band’s success. Fitting for a drummer, Danny is meticulous and perceptive, but also quite concise with his observations. Jake is also thorough and detailed about the band’s musical processes, but has his eye on the big picture. Sam, meanwhile, is more laid-back and casual, but easily slips into philosophical musings and even the occasional lighthearted dig at one of his brothers. And Josh is also affable and easygoing, in possession of a dry sense of humour and a knack for describing ordinary situations using vivid, creative imagery. For fans of classic and prog rock, this ones for you.
Track listing: 1. Fate Of The Faithful 2. Waited All Your Life 3. The Falling Sky 4. Sacred The Thread 5. Runway Blues 6. The Indigo Streak 7. Frozen Light 8. The Archer 9. Meeting The Master 10. Farewell For Now Record label: EMI Release date: 21st July 2023 Buy ‘Starcatcher’ now
