Perhaps the members of the all-female band The Organ sat down and watched an "I Love the 80s" marathon before recording their first full-length album, "Grab That Gun."
The record is a walk down the well-trodden path of retro rock that lacks any new flavor.
The quintet from Vancouver apparently thought that adding Ashley Webber, an organist, would make for an original sound and was even good enough for the name of their ensemble. Unfortunately for the listener, they could not have been more wrong. The simplistic ideology behind the band name carries over into the album's content. It's a collection of stripped-down drums, rudimentary bass and guitar fills passed off as solos.
It is difficult to tell one song from the next on "Grab That Gun," as the styles and tempos don't vary much and the lyrics hardly get happier than tragically suicidal.
"Now, I lie here in my room/And there is nothing I can do/But cut and think about you," Katie Sketch sings on the track creatively entitled "There Is Nothing I Can Do."
One of the few redeeming qualities of the album is how well Sketch's voice blends with the gloomy organ on songs like "Brother" and "Steven Smith." There is contrasting interplay between those darker, hollow sounds and the jagged percussion and twinkling guitars. Sketch's flowing vocals are comparable to a restrained Chrissie Hynde, of the Pretenders, in desperate need of Prozac.
Although the title "Love, Love, Love" suggests something potentially uplifting, that notion gets shredded when Sketch wails, "Oh, it must be right/That's why I'm cold and alone again."
After listening to just a few tracks, the organ in the background becomes tiresome, if anything. Webber's fingers simply hang out on a chord for an extended period, changing chords on occasion. At least she matches the rest of the band's barely-conscious attitude.
The ladies of the Organ remain true to themselves on "Grab That Gun," even if it does mean that few songs stand out and the finished product is a 30-minute cry for help. With titles like "No One Has Ever Looked So Dead," "Sinking Hearts," and "A Sudden Death," how long will it take before someone dials the crisis hotline?
