2023-07-21 17:00:08
The band Greta Van Fleet, in Nashville, Tennessee, in June 2023. From left, Josh Kiszka (vocals), Danny Wagner (drums), Jake Kiszka (guitar) and Sam Kiszka (bass). NEIL KRUG
Who would have thought that a new rock band with guitars, average age 25, would fill rooms the size of the Accor Arena (20,000 people) in 2023, in Paris and around the world? The American quartet Greta Van Fleet embodies this strange anomaly, stuck in the middle of tours dominated by the latest rap and R’n’B stars. Because, with the exception of the dividing Italians of Maneskin, who do not have the same critical rating, we see, alas, no other contender on the list. As the title of their third album clearly indicates, Starcatcherreleased on July 21, Greta Van Fleet now seems to want to aim for the moon.
Their formula is nothing new, however: a “guitar hero” as comfortable in the execution of killer riffs as in delicate folk arpeggios on twelve-strings; an exceptional singer spanning four octaves; stage outfits close to the body thoroughly playing the retro card; and a zest of this mystical poetry that we thought was buried since the arrival of the punk movement in 1977. With Greta Van Fleet, the rock clock is turning in the opposite direction, going back to the time of the hard rock giants of the 1970s – Led Zeppelin, Queen or Rush. A golden age of “hard” rock that the twin brothers Kiszka, Josh (vocals) and Jake (guitar), born in 1996, did not experience. Neither did their little brother Sam (bass, keyboards, born in 1999) and their childhood friend, drummer Danny Wagner (born in 1998).
When this band from the town of Frankenmuth (5,000 souls), Michigan, released their first mini-album, Black Smoke Rising, in 2017, the youngest of the siblings, Sam, is only 18 years old; the twins, 21 years old. But already their sound and their instrumental aptitude have nothing to envy to the figures already mentioned. Josh Kiszka’s ability to perform high-pitched vocals like those of Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant is particularly troubling, dividing fans and expert critics. Asked about his impressive vocal talents, the singer relativizes this gift, which can be a double-edged sword: “I can indeed easily cover four octaves, but it may sound ridiculous. Why sing so high? I like that my voice can take over when it’s appropriate in a song. »
“Holy Temple”
By evoking the question “Led Zep” which annoys, the young guard Greta Van Fleet denies having listened to the group of Jimmy Page and John Bonham in its beginnings, and says to have been fed rather by “traditional” music, in particular soul, folk and blues (they have taken over Sam Cooke and Fairport Convention in the past). “Our parents were crazy about music, remembers Josh. There were always records, cassettes and CDs around us at home. So we were raised in this environment, which we called the “sonic playground”. We explored so many different groups and styles that it stayed in our DNA, of course. We weren’t listening to mainstream or contemporary music back then. It didn’t happen until much later, and then we weren’t moved as was the case with traditional music. »
You have 52.88% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.
#album #Starcatcher #stratospheric #rock #Greta #Van #Fleet