Album Review: Great American Painting by The Districts

Having formed while they were still in high school back in 2009, they've progressed from gritty Americana-infused garage rock to embracing the dance-rock genre -- most notably on the undeniably catchy "Cheap Regrets", from their previous album You Know I'm Not Going Anywhere. However, garage rock fans needn't feel the urge to back away, the scuzzy guitars are still here, but the Philadelphia band have come a long way since their "Funeral Beds" days, as good as they were. Great American Painting kicks off with the hopeful and epic sounding "Revival Psalm", and vocalist Rob Grote gets to work on demonstrating his impressive vocal range.

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Like a dark-side version of The Killers, The Districts are back, ditching their grungy ballads for mostly pop-produced incisions on everything from gun violence to America's violent, racist existence. Coming from a place of earnest heart, much of the urgency in the message flickers off among Interpol-esque over-production. "Do It Over" touches the graceland wonder of scopic America, but ultimately drowns in production.

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"There's no fun left in this town" says The Districts, but we disagree; the markedly dance-ier tone of their latest release is a sweeping pivot toward the future of the garage rock band. The Districts are back with their fifth album, as promised, after the enjoyable 'You Know I'm Not Going Anywhere.' 'Great American Painting' is a record that is strongest for its instrumentation, featuring The Districts' typical cross-streams of guitars that amply lamenting vocals, intriguing listeners by making reference to social issues within America. Recorded at the legendary Sunset Sound in LA, 'Great American Painting' was inspired by frontman Rob Grote's feelings of in-between exhumed by the pandemic.

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