by August Smith





So here it is. The sort-of zenith of five excellent Michigan musicians from scattered local bands (Toro and the National Guard, Squeaky-Clean Cretins, solo stints), after two years of steamrolling Midwestern venues and blessing Kalamazoo dance-floors with show after show, and after a really fun live EP, the Go Rounds debut full-length album finally tumbles its way into our hands.

Listening to it- many times, actually- over the past few weeks, two observations about the Go Rounds come promptly to mind: 1. All five members are really, really proficient musicians- almost a Midwestern supergroup, with Graham Parsons on smooth, soulful vocals and guitar, Grant Littler also on guitar, Tod Kloosterman on bass, Andy Catlin responsible for keyboards and some strange electronic noodling here and there, and Adam Danis on drums. Each member brings something to the table, musically, and the finished, multi-faceted product fires on all cylinders in each song. 2. The Go Rounds have been expanding their sound over the years, to where trying to name the various elements borders on tedious list-making (I’ll do it anyway): rock, soul, jazz, psych-rock, folk, folk-rock, southern rock, and some bits of electronic music, too.

The variety is key. Opener “Idle” is a complexly arranged folk song, featuring the gentler elements of Graham’s voice alongside some twinkling keyboards and pulsing finger-picking. A left hook, the album shifts gears to “Cornmouth,” a song with a riff-heavy and racing urgency, Prasons now yelling “Hold your hands over my eyes/ tell me all ya know” with marked aggression. The apocalyptic-shuffle of “For Only a Moment,” its heartbeat an analog drum sound, is a doom-and-gloom climactic jam, garnished perfectly with guest vocals from the Kalamazoo musician Fiona Dickinson. It pairs nicely with the closer “Wake,” which is the most psychedelic and chilling piece on the album- vocals pitch-shifted and ambient gusts of icy winds masking it all. “40,000 Flies” is about as bleak and lucid as the name makes it sound. And has there been a better song out of Michigan this year than the crooning and soulful “Come to Me”?

Another observation just came to mind: the album feels like there was a lot of work put into it. A lot of blood and sweat and broken guitar strings. The Go Rounds, though incredibly talented at their positions, always sound like they are pushing themselves to their limits. One of the best elements of Graham’s voice, for example, is the way it sounds like it’s going to break at any moment, fragile and teetering at those loudest yelps. The Go Rounds album is a work of Midwestern melting-pot sensibilities, and I hope you’re ready to pick up a copy and leave it in your car stereo all summer, because I’m really not giving you a choice.

And if you really can’t wait to hear some of those songs mentioned above, remember that we did a Bridgehouse Session with the Go Rounds. Check some videos out below. The album will be available at the Strutt this Friday night, and presumably on their bandcamp within a week!

The Go Rounds – Come to Me

The Go Rounds – Questions for the Queen/Cornmouth/Venom