We had the opportunity to get advance access to Grant Pavol's Okay! The album drops May 17 on Accidental Popstar. Check out our thoughts below!
Advance Review - Grant Pavol: Okay
The first track on the album "Hair" has some fun sequencing and guitar work in it. This track falls squarely in the acoustic alt world. I love the timing with the vocals here, though I wish the vocals would have been a bit more prominent in the mix as they were very well done. "Vintage Clothes" is next, it features strong acoustic guitar again, paired with the same style of delicate vocals. The vocals have some effects laid on them, this doesn't take away at all though. The hook in this track is absolutely solid both musically and vocally. Thematically, we're in upbeat territory here and the melody reflects it.
"Dark" again plays with Pavol's vocals and still displays the strong guitar work we are used to hearing thus far. This song has a more electronic flair to it. It also makes excellent use of timing and pauses. Next up is "Nested", which features a great prominent percussion piece. Pavol's vocals here drift into ambient territory because of effects, but it's all supported by the music. It builds the scene well. "I Don't Mind" again features strong guitar work and great timing. It's a quick one coming in at just under two minutes, but it's a fun track to end the EP with.
Closing Thoughts - I really enjoyed this EP, Pavol is hard to comp because his playing style (use of pauses and sophisticated nature of guitar), upbeat melodies, and vocals are so unique. His music certainly falls in the alt-pop or alt-folk genres. The EP is an easy listen, with five tracks, none of which are longer than three minutes it is practically over before you know it. I could see Pavol crushing the live scene performing number after number in quick sequence in the way bands like the Pixies do, though his songs tend to be shorter on average than theirs. Thematically all the tracks were upbeat and featured great guitar. Pavol may be new on the scene, but he's definitely worth your time to check out!
Rating 4/5