Gregor Samsa — 27:36

Would Gregor Samsa be a young man, and not a band, and would that man have been one of the characters of Gus Van Sant’s Elephant, he’d be one of the nerds. A likeable one. By the way, this wouldn’t have prevented him from being shot at by the other nerds.

Hailing from Richmond, Virginia, Gregor Samsa is a fairly new band, but they are already hard at work making a name for themselves. 27:36 was first released in the States in 2002 on Iodine Recordings. Since then, the band has toured or played with bands such as Isis, Calla, Mono or even Interpol. It seems that 2004 will see them turn their attention to Europe a little more: they just played dates in France, Germany and the Benelux, but, maybe more importantly, 27:36 has just been released on the continent through Luxemburg’s Own Records.

Musically, Gregor Samsa are definitely coming from the shoegazing scene, although they instil here and there some post-rock-influenced “epic” moments. So you probably have guessed it, they aren’t really original. And the female singer gets on my nerves, I think her voice is way to ethereal (Ali Crane anyone?). But what the fuck, who needs originality if the music is good and satisfactory? And if you like well executed, melodic and gorgeous music, you’ll find plenty of room for satisfaction…  Particularly in the second track, a beautiful moment of musical restraint, a few minutes of contemplative music.

Sometimes it’s better to be an armed-type of nerd. But as long as no one carries weapons, Gregor Samsa will do just fine…

Photo by Denis Treutens