Gregg Garvey is a singer songwriter originally hailing from rural Minnesota, USA. He’s just come to my attention through the digital release of his new album, Time To Dream.
By Graeme Smith
As a musician, Gregg is self-taught and in the past has had a lot of success with garage band The Brutes. It’s taken him to Los Angeles, where he now lives, creating music that’s inspired by the likes of Scott Walker, Gene Clark and Nick Drake. It’s a sound like no other I’ve heard, bringing together the niche genres of Baroque pop, folk rock and vintage soul.
With a title like Time To Dream you know there’s going to be a certain otherworldliness about Gregg’s new album. Indeed, its opening gambit is Strange Vision which looks at our world from outer space, describing it with hushed awe. Through all the cosmic poetry, however, there is plenty of relatable, earthly emotion that’s beautifully articulated by expressive vocals.
The brief intro builds nicely to expansive and philosophical Jeremy (In The Willows) and from there we get a collection that elevates the world around us, casting new light on the commonplace. Themes like birth, renewal, transition, age and hindsight are all given the unique Gregg Garvey treatment.
Standouts include the groovy, move-inducing folk pop of Flash Photography, the lively and sprawling psychedelic odyssey Flora Laine, the rustic and nostalgic Wood Smoke, and album closer Mama I Don’t Know Why. The latter is a rousing, cathartic effort with some dramatic rises and falls.
Gregg Garvey is an excellent musician with a striking point of view. With his new album, he proves that he has a way with words and the ability to bring the emotion of his stories to life. His compositions combine the old and new expertly, and hang together in a thoroughly absorbing story. Time To Dream is an album in which to get lost.
Time To Dream was written and produced by Gregg Garvey. It’s available as a limited edition cassette, released by Los Angeles-based label Nomad Eel Records, and you can check it out below.
