Description
All Good Weeds Grow Up is the sophomore full-length album by the Swedish indierock band The Miscellaneous, released on Megaphone in 1996, an imprint of the Swedish gospel label Viva Records. Released in the US by Grey Dot Records in 1998, licensed from Viva and distributed by Diamante Music Group. The album was recorded and mixed January 1996 by Armand John Petri and Guy Elderfield at Revolver Recording Studios in Wolverhampton, England; with Petri producing.
The Miscellaneous features Stef Loy on vocals and acoustic guitar, Sooi Groeneveld van der Laan on vocals, Patrik Jonasson on (k)organ, BoH (a.k.a. Bo Hallbeck) on electric guitars, Øyvind Eriksen on bass, and Magnus Sjölander on drums, acoustic guitar, and vocals.
It’s encouraging to see believers from different countries working together. The Miscellaneous, whose moniker could well refer to the nationalities of the band’s members (Sweden, Netherlands, U.S.), provides a first-hand look at the savory result of one such union on its U.S. indie label debut, ‘All Good Weeds Grow Up’.
From the desperate cry of a lost sinner in «Redemption» to the simple wonder of an innocent one in «Child», universal themes prevail on ‘Weeds’. Universal doesn’t translate to simplistic, however. Lead singer and lyricist Stef Loy leans toward the poetic, imbuing his work with imagery and metaphors, such as in «Weather So Sublime»: “I’m pushing clouds out of the sky/ But still the rain falls down on those who cry/ I guess I’ll always wonder why/ Sometimes the weather’s so sublime.”
Producer Armand John Petri (Sixpence None the Richer) does a fine job of layering vocals from Loy (whose voice resembles Phil Keaggy‘s) and Sooi Groeneveld van der Laan in such a way that the project has an uncommon sense of depth. As a six-piece outfit, The Miscellaneous has plenty of instruments to manage and Petri does so in admirable fashion, giving prominence to each at the appropriate times. Fans of Sixpence, Jars of Clay and Out of the Grey should enjoy the results.
Loy and two other band members are late of Perry and The Poor Boys, whose Michael Roe-produced album several years ago served notice of their talent. Weeds moves that raw talent to the next level. [Erik Arneson, CCM, May 1998]
Cross Rhythms have given this international gaggle of musos a mention or two, we even reviewed a single, and now at last there’s an album out there. It kicks off to a loud start with the heavy melodic «Bunker Pew». There is no let up on the second track as Stef Loy lets rip with the snarling vocals of «Redemption» – an exploration of the power of God’s love without any of that sentimentality that is so common. I really enjoyed the riddle of «Grey Matter», even though I had to sit down with the lyrics to get all the words and even then I couldn’t figure it out. Powerful tune though. Then Stef teams up with the band’s female vocalist Sooi Groeneveld van der Laan for some tunes that are a little softer. The sound of the album becomes more laid back and moody with droning organs. «Me» is a relaxed song with perhaps the clearest lyrics on the album in which they cry out to the Lord about the perplexing nature of the world. There is a beautiful experimental ending to this that is just cut off a fraction of a second too soon. We are then taken back into that strong rock beat with great hooks, which gets even harder at the album progresses. I found this unusual tension between these different styles was most apparent when I am pulled back into the gentler more poetic songs straight after something heavy. But finally, I found Stef slowly building to a fine understated crescendo that rounded off an album well. Overall, if you want something different in your rock these guys are for you. [Dave Derbyshire, Cross Rhythms, December 1998]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/all-good-weeds-grow-up/305942098)
CD tracklist:
01. Bunker Phew – 3:46
02. Redemption – 2:54
03. Gray Matters – 3:23
04. Cando – 4:14
05. Horizon Blue – 5:04
06. Me (I Don’t Understand) – 4:28
07. Miracle – 3:58
08. The Medium – 4:05
09. Child – 3:07
10. Weather So Sublime – 4:07
11. Echo – 6:35
12. Black Lip Saturday – 5:44
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by Megaphone.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.