Gravitron--The Dawning Of The Finite Moment Of Now
4 Walls 2003
To feel so inspired by listening to music that you had to actually play the music yourself is admirable. It's pure and how things should be. This is how Gravitron came to be. With The Dawning Of The Finite Moment Of Now, they take the first promising steps of their musical journey as a band.
Gravitron say they got the grand inspiration to form after checking out a Glasspack/Immortal Lee County Killers show. It certainly shows in their sound, particularly the Glasspack influence (Dirty Dave of the Glasspack actually designed this album's cover art). Gravitron play "stoner rock" with a heavy emphasis on the rock. Their riffs are well put together and groove-laden. There's also a bit of a Mentors vibe to Gravitron's sound, thanks partly to the vocal style employed (quite gruff), but also due to the improvisational, one-take way this stuff was written and recorded (based on the artistic theories of the German Expressionist movement). This is a raw, rough-around-the-edges outing, to be sure. The vocals could stand to be a bit more "wet" in spots, and the performances could be tighter, but The Dawning Of The Finite Moment Of Now is an overall solid production.
Of the more traditionally "stoner rock" leaning Gravitron material (which is most of it), "Cotton Candy Queen" is the standout track. It's groove is so undeniable, no one would've been able to resist it if it had been released before the "stoner rock" scene became such a poseurfied mess. This said, Gravitron are at their strongest when they deviate a bit from the bare-boned "stoner rock" sound. On "Derailing A Diesel" and "Going Nowhere," Gravitron are able to bring a Cars influence out in what they're doing. The effect is quite refreshing and actually somewhat original sounding, within the confines of this genre.
In the end, The Dawning Of The Finite Moment Of Now shows Gravitron as a band with a lot of promise. They can go one of two ways: tighten the straight-up "stoner rock" they've got going, or expand further the Cars influence they bring to the heavy groove game. They can have success either way, but let's hope they take the second route as "stoner rock" is always in desperate need for an injection of originality and new sounds. With the proper time and focus, Gravitron could help fill that prescription.
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