Gu-Ru EP Review
Songs send you to places both good and bad. ‘’Riders On The Storm’’ by the Doors creates a gloomy thoughtful dreamy world. A lonely night in a motel room on a some imagined odyssey. Anything by Manu Chao sends me to a messy party. Stumbling through corridors in a heaving throng of strangers and friends. So where did Gu-Ru’s 4 track EP send me?
Gu-RuThe EP kicks off with a confident strutting track in the shape of ‘’Full Tilt Motor Groove’’. It conjures up 70’s decadence to me. Lounging in the rear of a large American convertible rolling through a downtrodden neighbourhood. Gu-Ru’s opener makes you feel like you’re listening to a jam, something funky, relaxed and improvised but after a while you realise that the track is in fact very sculptured and deliberate. I suppose that’s why I found myself in my imagined Cadillac. Effortless cool often takes a great deal of effort. That’s not to say the track is contrived. It’s a showcase of Gu-Ru’s skill with a vintage organ’s nuances. The band rise and fall in tight syncopation. Leaving you wondering where the rest of the Cadillac ride will take you.
‘’Moongroove’’ is another immediate and confident track. Lee Spreadbury (keys) riffs over and over as the band lay a solid bedrock to carry the catchy likable refrain. Drums are thick and splashy with a Bass line that compliments the keys. The whole EP and the band’s sound is a nod to another era and this track is the one that sounds the most vintage on the EP. Not cheesy but the vibraphone interludes and spacey sounds give it a fun and nostalgic feel. A 70’s hotel bar early on an evening dripping in animal print and paisley.
Canyon’s is much less clear cut. It moves through several moods. The three piece have a clear sound. Bass, Drums, and a myriad of organ sounds that they don’t over complicate in the mix. Each instrument is prominent and bold. I listened to the tracks in the dark with headphones. It’s a slower affair. It has a sexiness to it but it’s too sharp too really fill that adjective. In fact three minutes in a break in the music and a building resurgence makes it become quite an emotive. The band sound bigger and the song comes over you like a wave, a wave that nearly overwhelms but stays just long enough to feel exciting and intriguing. Sometimes laying in the ocean can feel scary but it’s always nice to dabble in deep waters.
After being warmed up by ‘’Full Tilt Motor Groove’’ and ‘’Moongroove’’ you’re then toyed with by ‘’Canyon’s’’. Next you are showed the full scale of Gu-Ru in ‘’Pusher’’. The track starts like a melancholic love song. Spreadbury's love of Jazz shines through stronger than other songs and for a minute or so the EP gives you a breather. Then you are back into the fun, funky pulsing trio’s sharp chiseled groove. In places it sounds familiar to previous tracks but in this style of music that is fine. Tempo and volume are played with to create an exciting and slightly longer track. Something the group could be criticised for not doing with the previous three tracks. I’m back in my Cadillac and having dabbled in the ocean and stayed in my opulent 1970’s hotel having a bath in a gold tub with fruity cocktail topped with an umbrella, the journey is over.
This is very much a love letter to vintage organ sounds and to some it may not redefine this genre. It does however showcase some excellent musical skill in tight concise nuggets of genuinely exciting music. I felt the tracks were a little short but I am certain that Gu-Ru will explore these tracks at length at any of their live shows. I know from videos posted on their social media that they are playing with adding vocals. The band clearly love this music and live it. Looking at band shots it’s clear these guys would look at home in any of my metaphors and this just adds to the experience of Gu-Ru. If you’ve been fond of a Rhodes organ or a funky bass line. If you love to hear a drummer follow music not just as rhythm but as an accompanying in instrument give Gu-Ru’s EP fifteen minutes.
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