An Incredible Contradiction

What does a musician from Buffalo, New York have to contribute to the electronica community? Grabbitz’s new record Better With Time is an experimental and satisfying album. While it is not an avant-garde album and it is not a departure from a “traditional” sounding electronica record, this recent release is so much more enjoyable than most of the sub-genre’s latest creations.

The first thing about this record is how misleading it sounds at the beginning. The first song, “Hope (Intro)” is a sedated and melancholic sound, more akin to the unhurried and dreamy nature of Sigur Ros. A lugubrious piano wades through the minor notes on the keys while a cello plays softly in the background. It slowly fades into the next song as if preparing the listener to trawl through a desolate record. It then, however, transforms into a hypnotic, heartbeat like rhythm, before mutating into a buoyant song about a horrendous breakup with “Better With Time.”

For such a euphoric sounding album, the lyrics are surprisingly frightening and deal with violence and possessiveness. In “Better With Time” he explores his “Beautiful time in a deadly year” while “Make You Mine” and “Get Out” are about the dominating personalities in a relationship. “Make You Mine” is about his own difficulty with possession, and it leaves the listener with an unsettling feeling when he sings things like “I need more/Breathe your air and make it mine.” The other song that addresses these sentiments is “Get Out” where he pleads to be rescued from his situation.

On this record, one of the most memorable triumphs is the transitions between tracks. While some musicians try this and fail, Grabbitz manages to convert one song to another seamlessly. Each one slowly morphs into the next and the album sounds as if it is one mammoth song.

If the listener was to take one thing from this album, it is that it is one of contradictions. They are, however, some of the most surprising and brilliant contradictions. From the beginning, with its woebegone sound, to the lyrics of violent imagery layered over bubbly synthesizers and drum machines, Grabbitz’s Better With Time is a beautifully mismatched album.