The return of Greta Van Fleet, the Frankenmuth-bred, Led Zeppelin-indebted rock band, is nigh.
The band — brothers Josh, Jake, and Sam Kiszka, along with drummer Danny Wagner — announced the details on its first record since their chart-topping (and polarizing) 2018 debut Anthem of the Peaceful Army. As described in the press release, the new record, which is unsurprisingly titled The Battle at Garden's Gate, consists of musings on technology, global conflict, fame, and philosophical questions about life. (Apparently lead singer Josh wrote a new song after a melting ice cube in his drink reminded him of the fragility of human existence.)
Oh, and it's due out on April 16, 2021.
In October, Greta Van Fleet dropped a new track, “My Way, Soon,” and in November, they got cheeky and dropped trou on their Instagram for the betterment of humankind, urging people to vote (because when we think about our patriotic duty we think of the bare butts that built this great country, or something).
No, but really, GVF spent the year posting staged photos of themselves drinking beers barefoot, flicking off the camera, festooned in vintage baubles, while also using their platform for good by donating to several causes during the pandemic and providing anti-racism resources for their fans amid the Black Lives Matter movement's fight for racial justice.
The band, which hails from the Christmas-obsessed Little Bavaria known as Frankenmuth, also made a major change in 2020: they packed up their distressed denim and multi-vitamins and moved to Nashville. The geographical move apparently had a huge influence on the new tunes as they shook off their small town ways and immersed themselves in Nashville's rich music scene.
“We realized that while growing up, we had been shielded by many things, and we were unaware of a lot of things," Wagner shared in a press release. “And then we were thrown out into this huge world, and it was a bit of a culture shock at first. But as we started to travel a lot, meet new and different people and experience different cultures, our definition of 'normal' changed.”
The band dropped (no, not acid) a taste of the new record via a song titled “Age of Machine,” which finds music journalist Richard S. He praising GVF for refining and improving upon their recycled retro-rock sound. Hell, he even admitted to liking and suggests it may be "time to find a new least favourite band," Saturday Night Live Robert Plant parody be damned.
You know what? The playing is really good on this. The vocals still sound like an SNL parody of Robert Plant, but they're improved too.
— Richard S. He 何盛皓 (@rsh_elle) December 4, 2020
Time to find a new least favourite band?https://t.co/ReQPnormlw
Last year, Detroit music daddy Jack White — also a Nashville transplant — dished out some friendly advice to the young Frankenmuth foursome.
“If you keep pushing forward, that shit will go away,” White told Rolling Stone in reference to the tireless comparisons between GVF frontman Jake Kiszka and Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant, who White used to be compared to.
Well, we'll see what happens at The Battle of Garden's Gate or whatever. We'll bring the kombucha.
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