ALBUM REVIEW: The Battle At Garden’s Gate – Greta Van Fleet

When a band takes the world by storm and becomes popular in their initial releases, the world watches them like hawks to see what they’re going to do next and if they can live up to expectations. This has happened to many bands over the years, especially within the more classic sounding rock subgenres, and now it’s time for Michigan’s GRETA VAN FLEET to step up to the plate. After winning the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album for their EP, From The Fires, and receiving bouts of positivity for their debut album, Anthem Of The Peaceful Army, their sophomore album, The Battle At Garden’s Gate, is sure to be just as anticipated as one of the hottest records of 2021.

Unfortunately, it’s noticeable from the off that perhaps the anticipation may not live up to its high hopes. Things start of strong with the first parts of the album, especially noting My Way, Soon for it’s energy and nostalgia invoking feeling, almost creating false memories of life in the ’70s. It’s feel good and shows the diversity in the bands style and sound. This does appear to be the only track on the album that holds this energetic tempo however, as other songs fall into a moderate pace for the rest of the album, it can feel slightly sluggish at times. Whilst Heat Above provides a nice, softer start to the album, it has seemingly set the blueprint for the remainder of the album.

One of the key things that stands out is the versatility of bass player Sam Kiszka. Throughout a lot of the album, he takes a step back from his credited instrument and dedicates his skillset to spending the majority of the time playing the Hammond organ, adding new layers to the band’s sound.

Musically, the sound does feel repetitive, the only real balance coming from lyrical content. There are only a few times throughout the album that offer anything really different, Stardust Chords being a prime example of another standout track filled with vibrance. However, the rest of the album lacks in excitement and is filled with moments that don’t appear to work together well. Tears Of Rain is a beautiful song, but it has the potential to be so much more if the vocals of Josh Kiszka were approached in a different manner, it lacks the right emotion for the lyrics and the instrumentation that accompany.

Since their debut, the band have been plagued with comparisons to LED ZEPPELIN, and it’s clear they have tried to distance themselves from that musically, however Built By Nations does have noticeable similarities with Black Dog through the riffs and drumming work, as talented as Danny Wagner is. Other songs such as Age Of Machine sound a little to close to their own work as well, pairing it alongside Anthem Of The Peaceful Army‘s Age Of Man.

It’s disappointing because there is a lot of promise from GRETA VAN FLEET, but the majority of songs, especially towards the later parts of the album such as Caravel, The Barbarians and Trip The Light Fantastic, sound almost identical with one another. The same tempo, instrumentation, vocal lines and even keys that the songs are in are all matched with one another. Whilst it’s got a soft edge and the efforts are there to be tranquil with the music, there’s a lot of elements within each of the songs that null it’s effects.

It’s an unfortunate disappointment for a band that had so much anticipation to deliver something exceptional. The Battle At Garden’s Gate seems comfortable to stay in first gear for the majority of the record. Within a sub-genre where the bands are plentiful, it’s key to stay top of your game and unfortunately GRETA VAN FLEET have just fallen shy of the promise we hoped for.

Rating: 5/10

The Battle At Garden’s Gate is out now via Lava/Republic Records and EMI Records in the UK. 

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