"The mystery in music is gone," declares Mark Grochowski, ringleader of NYC's amorphous rock ‘n' roll collective growch. "Everybody is blogging about the boring minutia of their everyday lives, so there's nothing left to the imagination. Back in the day, most everything you knew about a band was based on what you could find inside the album artwork and the music itself. There needs to be mystique again."
Though growch was born out of a longtime love for Jane's Addiction, Wilco and Tom Waits, Mark is quick to point out that growch is most more than just him, his guitars and his old LPs. "There are just so many sensitive guys with guitars out there and I don't want to add to the glut," he asserts. "I've always appreciated the saying, ‘The band is greater than the sum of the parts.' I love the idea of taking a variety of different pieces and weaving them together into something greater than any one individual."
Considering the rotating cast of contributors he rounded up for the project, including guitarist Dave Rosser of Twilight Singers/Gutter Twins fame, drummer Robby VanSaders (Earlymay) and Gene Park (The Silent League/Loaded Dreams), Sum of the Parts is by all means a group effort. Produced by Charles Newman, best known for his recent work helming Magnetic Fields' critically acclaimed Distortion, Sum of the Parts was crafted over the course of many months, dependent on when Newman's studio was free and collaborators were available.
Sum of the Parts is a stirring first glimpse of a group coming into their own. growch has definitely added up their parts to create an EP that is as self-confident as it is memorable.
Credit where credit is due
Welcome to the jungle
