What's Eating Gilbert Grape - the band not the flick
You may have seen the flick of the same name staring Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio, but do not be fooled into thinking that they have anything in common but a name. If anything, the name is a simple appreciation to the movie like McFly to Back to the Future. The film is a little easier to sum up than the band though…
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape are a difficult band to describe and characterise. Their music has an alternative basis, but it doesn’t fit in the genre that easily. There are the basic electric guitars, but there are some areas that are far mellower, the highflying cloud surfing style of melodies. The vocals make the release even more unpredictable, kind of psychedelic and unearthly. The hardest thing is attempting to remain understanding when you are unable to comprehend the lyrical content of any of the tracks on this release.
With the combination of erratic musical changes and unique vocals What's Eating Gilbert Grape appears to be a band made for the stage and not one that are able to interact and retain a listeners concentration through a six track release. ‘A Blue Image’ begins an atmospheric journey through seasons (‘Autumn’) and nights out (‘Fall Away’) among other elements, but I think they are able to develop this and be much more appreciated on a greater scale on stage.