April 14th, 2014 
Brian Leak 
Artist: Particle Wave
Album: Grand Unifier
Genre: Rock
Los Angeles-based garage rock quartet Particle Wave recently released Grand Unifier, their third album since forming in 2006. Melding prominent elements of modern garage and psych rock with the best influences from earlier eras of rock and roll, the band’s newest release can appeal to many generations as you could surmise that their sound is something that originated in the ’60s and snowballed along to the present, assimilating the various bits of each decade’s contributions to the rock genre and adapted as it grew.
Listening through Grand Unifier, vocally and instrumentally, I detect what would appear to be influences from The Doors, The Zombies, Neil Diamond, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, and many more notable acts I’ve inherited from my dad’s record collection yet with hints of grunge from the ’90s and even indie/shoegaze elements of more recent acts like Real Estate. All of this is wrapped up in a cohesive, 11-track offering with an easily digestible 33-minute runtime.
Despite the record barely breaking a half hour, it’s not without tracks that feel a tad repetitive and longer than they actually are. The album’s opener and title track initially sets things off on a good foot yet begins to drag with little variation and repetition. The song’s so hypnotic though that it’s hard to really notice unless you’re able to snap out of the daze. Tracks like “Mr. Lonely” and “Come Home” are quite the opposite in that they’re fast-paced and end before you know it. They are the two shortest tracks on the album, but they go by in even more of a blur than you’d expect. They make for a great balance though in the album’s collective tempo; a kind of rock and roll ebb and flow that has both energy and a lulling effect at times.
“Welcome You In” is my favorite track on Grand Unifier. It offers a few more elements not found on most of the record and is truly one that could be mistaken for something recorded in the ’70s. A lot of this is testament to the production. Assuming that the kind of organic, almost live classic rock sound is what was intended, they absolutely nailed it. There are moments of light synth and piano that make for great additions that help drive the track along with a timeless feel. Every layer and melody are fully realized and compliment each other flawlessly. The song even fades out like a classic rock song from that time. Such a rarity these days!
On first listen of this record, I admittedly felt a sense of boredom come over me, but as I spent more time with it and listened to it in various ways (laptop, headphones, stereo system) I found more and more things that stood out to me. The whole album has a very natural vibe and it’s easy to put it on as a background and forget that it’s playing, but to me, that actually reminds me of growing up with this type of music playing constantly in our home. It was always background to me as my parents were fully immersed in the sounds of the aforementioned greats and more. This album is a grower. The more I listen, the more I hear, and I don’t mean that as an obvious, literal statement. There are great moments hidden in plain view — there’s just nothing outright gripping about what the band’s doing that rips your attention away from anything else. If you put this record on with the intention of focusing on it alone, it’ll work for you, or at least it does for me.
SCORE: 7.5/10
Review written by: Brian Lion — (Follow him on Twitter)
- UTG PREMIERE: Hymn – ‘Mouth’ EP - June 10, 2016
- SakkieFTW snaps you out of it with new EP, ‘Experiment 1.3.2’ - June 6, 2016
- The Lost Poets’ ‘Insubordia pt II’ is dark and gritty - June 3, 2016
Posted in 
Tags: 