Starting with a slow, steady, and ominous riff that feels very ghost of
Bauhaus via '90s emo, "Put Away" begins
Growing Over on a momentous and ominous note, an upward-sounding marching to something momentous that's not necessarily pleasant. It's a nice act of formalism on the part of
Sex Church, perhaps reflecting the Canadian quartet's own move from a more messy stage approach to something with a sharper edge. The introduction of vocals on "Waking Up" adds a further sense of doom but the slow, echoed pronouncements avoid histrionics in favor of steadily voiced contemplation, even as the mix of brightness and doom continues along. With that model set,
Sex Church make their enjoyable way throughout
Growing Over, feeling like some lost document from '80s Southern California -- Nate Starkman & Son/Independent Project style -- given a new liveliness in the 21st century. Songs like "Bleed Me" and the brilliantly titled "Garbage in the Grass" have the
Morricone from hell trash-garage feeling down, while "Colour Out of Space" completely cuts loose in a squall of noises, including sax, that calls to mind the noise origins of the Load label and more besides. Somewhat gentler moments like "Dull Light" could almost be a slightly more stern early
R.E.M., at least before the noisier break, and the pulsing, rigorous synth-bass of "Beneath the Bottom" introduces another tack while keeping the same general mania. Meanwhile, the title track is far from a power ballad but has a beautifully obsessive feeling to it, a steady two-note figure setting the central tone as other guitars sweep around it and the rhythm moves along, the singing gaining a more aching feeling on the chorus. ~ Ned Raggett