Gengahr — Sanctuary — Album Review
Indie | Rock | Electronic
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Music
Admittedly, this spot was between this new album, and Blossoms’ Foolish Loving Spaces. But the newest album from Gengahr, Sanctuary, eventually won me over thanks to their fusion of indie, rock and electronic, as oppose to Blossoms, who I have always perceived as one of the most fundamentally indie bands out there, which quite frankly bores me.
But enough about Blossoms, and their album that I didn’t review, as today, I review the third album by Hackney band Gengahr.
If you’ve been reading the 2020 review that I have written so far, you would’ve probably figured out that I have been no stranger to getting into new artists, as I really wish to outdo my previous years of bring you guys the newest music. This album is no different, and is my musical introduction to Gengahr. However, I felt a strong sense of Gengahr’s style from this album alone, despite it also being rather experimental in places as well.
To sum the bands general sound up, I feel like it sort of takes bits and pieces of Two Door Cinema Club and Foals, and fuses them together in a way that, oddly enough, works.
What I would argue to be the strongest element of this album is the sheer memorability of many of the tracks that Sanctuary has to offer. From the incredibly funky sound of “Heavenly Maybe”, to the gorgeous guitar licks on “Moonlight”, there are a lot of different moods, many of which occupying my mind in rotation.
That isn’t to say, however, that the entire album is memorable; there are a few duds on this project which feel so constrained to a sensible indie formula, or worse still, feel even more stale than that.
But despite me feeling like I was going to delve into Gengahr to find yet another washed-out indie sound, the band have instead presented me with a lot more creativity. Aside from this there is also a generally warm atmosphere which could spell even more enjoyment towards the summer.
Sanctuary is definitely less of a by-the-numbers indie project than most others, and has a solid amount of entertainment value with its generous collection of solid tracks.
Favourite Tracks: Atlas Please | Heavenly Maybe | Moonlight
(“Soaking In Formula” comes at a very close fourth)
Least Favourite Track: Never A Low
Gengahr/Liberator Music
