by Matt Watton (@brotinus)
Philadelphia trio Grocer have resisted the unconscious urge toward homogeneity that afflicts so many weird, unique bands. Quite the opposite – with each release they become even more themselves. On the Scatter Plot EP, coming on the heels of the 2022’s undersung but excellent album Numbers Game, the trio lets their freak flag fly, experimenting with song structures, curious chords, and sonic textures anchored in a foundation of melodicism and elevated by a raucous chorus of vocals.
The opener and single “Downtown Side” spits in the face of conventionality, lulling you in with an inoffensive drum beat only to devolve into spastic spurts, yowling guitars, cosmic half-harmonies, and literal bells and whistles. Other tracks tarry equally with pop melodies, post-punk bass lines, and a cavalcade of percussion and effects (“Not By Chance,” “Open Wide”). On the whole, the six songs on the EP are sweet but not saccharine, cerebral but fun, noisy but not self-indulgent (well, maybe the closer “Downtown Slide” is a tiny bit indulgent – but it’s still good!)
Grocer’s sound is elusive, not so much defying classification as flirting with too many categories as once. They’re in good company, then, with the (for lack of a better term) art rock bands like Chronophage, Motherhood, Foyer Red, practicing a kind of melodic maximalist brand of alternative that sounds only like itself and little else. To push an obvious metaphor, this EP is no neighborhood grocery store – it’s a post-punk megamart, fully stocked with all the essentials and treats you could ever want.