The Lemon Grove – “Tame”

The Lemon Grove – “Tame” – Single Review

Alright…there’s potential here.

Give it some time though.  I like a lot of what I hear in this debut, but there’s always an arc to a music career and The Lemon Grove is very much on the early side of it so far.  As time goes on, I highly suspect this “duo of two psychologists with a passion for music” will go on to do things that’ll far surpass what they’ve created on “Tame,” but there’s no doubt about this being an extremely positive first step for them.  As I spun my way through their initial offering to the music scene, I couldn’t help but feel like this is the kind of first impression I enjoy most…regardless of the results or what any of us might feel about it, The Lemon Grove makes a memorable impact with “Tame” – you’ll remember hearing this duo.

That’s no easy accomplishment when you’re just starting out, but they’ve already got a massive level of identity to be found in their music and a sound that can certainly set them apart in all the right ways.  I was sitting here, spinning “Tame” on a loop, trying to figure out how I was going to describe what I was hearing to you.  Then I read their bio online, and felt like they put it better than I ever could:  “German Techno Club to 19^th-century Paris.”  I get it, I get it…that’s not exactly easy to picture or feel like you’d know what you’re in-store for BEFORE you push play perhaps, but believe me when I tell you, it’ll make perfect sense to you after hearing a song like “Tame.”  I’ve obviously heard a whole lotta hybrids in my time, but “German Techno Club to 19^th-century Paris” has not been one of’em until this very moment.  You regular readers know I can’t resist hearing something that’s new to my ears, and The Lemon Grove proved to be extremely intriguing right off the drop.  Closest comparisons I can think of off the top of my head would be stuff like Hooverphonic, and then like, maybe the occasional track by Múm.  Which I guess makes enough sense…there’s a worldly, cultured sound to each of them that’s distinctly different than our usual North American vibe over here, and it occurs naturally.  Hooverphonic was based out of Belgium, Múm in Iceland, and The Lemon Grove is coming to our Canadian pages all the way from Finland.  Anyhow…that’s all ambitious and artistic company to be keeping, all with high degrees of authenticity and uniqueness that make for exceptional listening material that always feels majorly fresh.

Does all that good stuff mean I fully ‘get’ this single?  Not really, no.  There are parts that definitely make sense to my ears, and parts that I’m less sure about.  I’m so accustomed to the way our ears react when they’re confronted with something they don’t usually hear; they tend to rebel a bit, and it can take a spin or two for them to settle into what they’re taking in.  That first spin on “Tame” is an experience, that I can tell ya.  When I heard the vocals and their effect-laden sound, I was like, “whaaaaaaat are we doing here?”  As I continued to listen to this song, I grew to like it a bit more than I did at first, but that initial spin had me fully confused for the first couple minutes.  Later on, I’d proceed to almost wonder about the inclusion of effects way more than the sound itself…not too many bands out there have a singer with the extraordinary potential that The Lemon Grove has.  She sings with an incredible amount of power and can hit some remarkable notes…I guess I was almost surprised to hear that amazing voice buried into some effects in parts of this song as a result.  What I feel like would work out better for The Lemon Grove, would be to probably leave those vocal effects behind, and sink her vocals a bit further into the music that surrounds her.  Main reason being that her voice is always going to stand out, because that’s how good she is and how much power there is in her vocals…and by raising up the music around her in the mix, you’ll get a more dramatic impact that’ll suit the song in cases like what we hear on “Tame.”  Otherwise, you run the risk of the voice being the continual dominant trait, and considering how much detail there is in the structure and music, I would want that closer to an equal billing, you feel me?  Make no mistake though, strong in both of this duo’s main elements between the music & vocals.  The lead vocals will reveal many highlight moments along the way, but make sure you’re listening closely, because the backing vocals have some majorly inspired highlights of their own as well.  As far as the effects go…I dunno…they catch the attention of my ears, but I just never felt like I loved those parts of the vocals as much.  As to whether or not they should just leave that aspect of their music behind – I’m not really suggesting that so much as I’m just pointing out The Lemon Grove’s singer has a remarkable natural singing voice…when it comes right down to it, I’m always on the side of experimentation and trying new things, so if they wanna dive into the effects, ultimately I’m all for it.

The real question is whether or not they’re fighting an uphill battle…and only time will tell the full story on that.  My gut tells me that “Tame” is probably shooting a considerable distance over the heads of the average everyday music listener with its complex structure and sequence of multiple different parts.  That doesn’t have to be a bad thing at all, and in my opinion, it’s actually a strength – but it is also important to kind of have an idea of who the audience for a song like “Tame” will be so that you can set your expectations realistically.  Essentially, if we’re asking if “Tame” is built for the whole world, then I can only report back that no, the world is not quite there yet.  In my heart of hearts, I know bands like Hooverphonic, Múm, and now The Lemon Grove as well, are way ahead of their time if I’m being honest with ya…but that’s not to say they can’t find a home on many playlists out there today.  There’s a whole crowd of fans of art & music combined, like myself, that’ll love to hear something like what The Lemon Grove is creating…and it’s those folks that like something decisively different that’ll be the people in their corner every step of the way.  There are multiple points of accessibility and appealing melody to be found in “Tame” for sure, but it’s also got many twists & turns to it that almost put a Progressive spin into this single to go along with its “German Techno Club to 19^th-century Paris” sound, which may prove challenging for many listeners out there.  The most key observation I’ve got in listening to The Lemon Grove is that they’ve got plenty of options for the future ahead.  They’ve got all the right pieces in place between the music and the vocals, now it’s all about whether or not they want to take the more challenging route for themselves and stick to their art-based sound, or bend it in more accessible directions to broaden their audience even further.  You can still be arty at the same time as accessible – “Tame” is close to that, but I’d be willing to bet that The Lemon Grove will get even closer to it as they continue forward from here and really dive into the treasure trove of talents that makes them special.

Find out more about The Lemon Grove from their official page at Facebook here:  https://www.facebook.com/lemongroveband

If you dig what we do at sleepingbagstudios & want to be part of the madness, by all means click here to be featured on these pages of ours!