The drifting, plaintive guitar ebbs away from album opener “Sciencefiction” and waves goodbye to everything released to date as the rest of Grinning William shapeshifts into the playful, angular, and adventurous territory.
Armed with an acidic, Lou Reed sounding drawl and lo-fi palette that he plunders at will this new album emerges as a darkly whimsical exploration of identity and the complexities of modern existence. Tackling a shifting set of hooky and pop-ish songs on the subjects of humility “Big Fish” and depression “Back2Bed”, while sprinkling over a mix of new wave glitter or dirty sludge, Burns manages to sum up his state of mind succinctly and resonates to most experiencing this modern world. The lighter backing vocals of keyboardist Faye Robinson can make the bitter pill of Burns’ voice easier to swallow, especially on the otherwise plodding title track.
Indeed this time around Burns involves his band more in the process not just Robinson but Tom Towle on second guitar, Ben Davis on bass, and Adrian Cook on drums. It’s a more collaborative and fuller-sounding record than Western Spaghetti as a result but still led by Burns singular outlook and lyrics. The open-minded approach to recording does allow for frequent creative shifts, musically and tonally and while that’s all part of the creativity it’s also more than a little jarring.
The album’s eclectic soundscape features the extremely angular “Devil Dressed In Disguise” following the dreamy haze of “Apples + Oranges” and its beefy orchestration sounds interesting but unsettles the ear. These tonal shifts, frenetic guitar riffs, pulsating rhythms, raw energy, and dense drones feel like Burns has raided the store in an attempt to distance himself from one specific sound. His introspective lyricism manages to thread most of the album together loosely but on the whole, it seems disjointed without reason.
The blissful moments are truly wonderful, “Indecision” is a swirling wash of beauteous music - but only until the squashed synth stomps all over it towards the finish. “Higher Energy” is a cultish - perhaps tongue in cheek, but it’s hard to know - take on self-help. Sincerity, or rather the way Burns plays with mischievousness, is partly the thing that’s difficult to pin down as Burns navigates the delicate balance between humour and melancholy.
Where you want to feel that emotional impact and delve into the themes of disillusionment and self-deception you find yourself second-guessing either the meandering or ADHD whims of opting for dramatic shifts in structure that can detract from sitting within the songs for their entirety. Despite the mix of vibrant highs and a few subdued moments, Grinning William is interesting but lacks cohesion within its contradictions and insecurities.
