You know that moment, the very special moment, where you hear a song that just grabs you by the throat, creeps into your ears and brain, and just sends chills down your spine? Ladies and germs, I give you Age of Man by Greta Van Fleet!
I first became aware of Greta Van Fleet when they played Coachella this year. I was watching one of the Youtube live streams from the festival. They played before Jean-Michel Jarre, and while their music didn’t immediately grab me, I loved the voice of the singer, and I did take notice of them. They were interviewed backstage after they had finished playing. And the interviewer of course compared them to Led Zeppelin.
“Oh god,” I thought. I’m so sick and tired of all these Led Zeppelin wannabes. You know, the kind of bands who make music and songs you’ve heard a thousand times before. And while you can dig the music seeing them live, it’s too anonymous for you to bother listening to it at home (I’m looking at you Rival Sons). So I just filed Greta Van Fleet away.
Then they finally released their debut album in October. And I saw people, whose opinions I usually trust, rave about the band. So I put the album on Spotify today.
The opening song is called Age of Man, and that song did to me just what I wrote in the intro here. I don’t know what it is about it the song, but I just love it and I have to stop myself from playing it to death. It has a great melody, and the way vocalist Josh Kishka uses his voice here is just magnificent. Kind of a mixture between Robert Plant, Noddy Holder and Geddy Lee.
As for the rest of the album, I wasn’t that hooked. It has some great rock songs, and I will give it some more spins, but nothing comes close to the opening track. Also: In this case, all the comparisons to Led Zeppelin really fit. Josh’s vocals are like hearing a young Robet Plant. Seriously! (Or as a friend of mine said: “It’s embarrassingly similar to Plant!”). And I’m not a huge Zeppelin fan, I gotta tell you.
But the album is growing on me, and my oh my, Age of Man. Give it a spin. Now:
Great and intriguing song indeed. I do like the rest of the album too.
Have been listening to all 5 times now.
Thanks for the tip!
Very happy to hear that, Theo. You’re welcome!