The image of an empty house is a pertinent one, not least because such a space is alluded to in the title. The debut Grebes release, House Creature, is being released later this week on Broken Circles, and we’re lucky enough to be sharing the whole thing a few days early. From opener ‘One Trick Pony’, there is a sense that Ungerleider is working from within a state of isolation, becoming the titular house creature crafting private pop gems. Which is not to say the tracks lack any sparkle or detail, with the intricately layered ‘wyd’ showing off a stratified stack of synths and psych-inspired guitar, while the foggy pop of ‘Beleev’ is a party in its own right, even if it’s just a party of one.

Other tracks favour the enveloping sadness of nostalgia, with ‘Halo’ and ‘Always Home’ hinting at the folk underpinnings of the Grebes sound. The former kicks into a gentle groove a third of the way in, though the latter remains insular and faded. “And when the last green starling has flown,” Ungerleider sings from within the wistful ache of the instrumentation, “will there be anything to call your own, I would never / and when you’re tired and all alone, you know I am always home.”

The track signals something of a switch in the album’s mood, flipping the switch from peppy rhythms of the opening half to something far more downbeat. ‘Plum’ is a case in point, a sultry, half-paced croon that slinks and slides in slo-motion. “Keep me here when I’m alone, and I’ll watch your tv show,” go Ungerleider’s words, sounding somewhere between a promise and a plea. “See my fear is all I know, all I ever had to know.” The sun has well and truly set on the Grebes abode, and Ungerleider is digging in for a long night.

That said, the album ends not with some triumphant crescendo but rather a humble passing. Closer ‘Always New’ sets out with cushioned tones before being washed out by an accumulation of aqueous synths. The low-key finish encapsulates the House Creature aesthetic. If life is fragile and fleeting, events both special and terrible passing in a blink of an eye, then what use is bombast in its representations? Rather Grebes highlights the value of subtlety and discretion, charting not the melodrama of the moment but rather the slow melancholy of time’s passing.

Photo by Malcolm Donaldson

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Various Swell Sounds is a new collaborative playlist series from Shana Hartzel of Swell Tone, Jon Chin of Cereal and Sounds, and myself. Instead of constantly exchanging tracks amongst each other, we have decided to work together to bring them to more ears. Every month, we will match a selection of our old and brand new favourites to a specific theme, as decided on a revolving basis month by month.

It only comes around every four years, so this month we’ve hopped aboard the World Cup hype train. We encountered a bit of a hitch when realising that there aren’t a wealth of football/soccer related indie tunes, especially when 2/3 of the curating team reside in the US. Thus, Beautiful Games was born, a playlist that widens the net to encompass all sports, and plays a little loose with the sound and style, meaning this might not the most cohesive list you’ll ever get from us. Still, that’s cool. The World Cup is all about a diverse clash of styles, after all.

Find the tracklisting below, though due to Spotify’s limited library, that version isn’t quite complete.

1. Parquet Courts – Total Football
2. Speedy Ortiz – Basketball
3. Ex Hex – Don’t Wanna Lose
4. Amyl and The Sniffers – Cup of Destiny
5. Queen Moo – Goals
6. Darla – Hey Ref, Let the Boys Play!
7. Varsity – Smash
8. Gulfer – Baseball
9. The Lagoonas – Beach Golf Course
10. Summer Flake – Shoot and Score
11. Methyl Ethel – Shadowboxing
12. John Maus – Touchdown
13. The Fall – Kicker Conspiracy
14. Slow Ref – Playing the Game
15. Stephen Malkus and The Jicks – Chartjunk
16. Hello Shark – Big Game
17. The Mountain Goats – Song for Sasha Banks
18. Another Michael – Football
19. Deerhoof – Basketball Get Your Groove Back
20. Super Furry Animals – Venus & Serena
21. Sports Coach – I’d Trade My Whole Team for a Dog
22. Ian Sweet – #23
23. Mothers – No Crying in Baseball
24. Spartan Jet-Plex – Sport
25. Strange Ranger – Sioux Falls
26. Her’s – Speed Racer
27. Frog – Nancy Kerrigan
28. Belle & Sebastian – The Stars of Track and Field
29. Natalie Prass – Short Court Style
30. Songs: Ohia – The Big Game is Every Night

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