So who exactly is Geordie Greep? For anyone not familiar with Black Midi, he was the lead singer and guitarist from 2017 to 2024, featuring on the band’s three critically acclaimed studio albums. The steadily increasing notoriety of the band and increased worldwide recognition towards the end of their life has made their breakup a very big deal across the British rock scene, firmly placing the spotlight on the members and their future endeavours. Greep in particular, with his erratic vocal style described as ‘warped croon' and central presence in the Black Midi's songwriting, has become the band's the most anticipated artist to release solo material.
Greep draws from a wide range of influences, with a background playing gospel music in churches and busking on the street in his early days. His love for progressive rock and classical in his youth and growing taste for salsa and Latin rock during Black Midi’s tour in South America are all incorporated in his debut solo project. He also draws inspiration from Frank Sinatra, personified by his vocal style and cover of ‘If You Are But a Dream’ as the closer on Greep’s debut album. The most important and defining aspect of the artist however is his persona and lyrical style, writing what is described as ‘bizarre, horrible love songs’. His studio project ‘The New Sound’ highlights this with lyrics drawn from characters he met while drinking in clubs. Greep states, in an interview with The Quietus, "No matter how desperate or how disgusting these characters are in the songs, I hope at some point people at least feel sorry for them or feel a similar feeling as them.”
‘The New Sound’ has received widespread critical acclaim upon its release, being #1 on the new releases page of the user-driven online review platform Rate Your Music. The site Metacritic, which assigns an album a score out of 100 based on the average rating of mainstream publications, has given it a 79/100. So why has it been so favourably received? The harsh, grating math rock sounds of Black Midi have now been infused with Greep’s outward influences. This creates a loud, yet melodic blueprint for the songs. Intense guitar riffs are juxtaposed with Latin-infused lines and percussion, with rhythm sections sometimes resembling salsa and guitar chords resembling Greep’s prog- and jazz-rock influences. The best example of this would be the album’s lead single ‘Holy Holy’, firmly representing not only a melting pot of musical influences but also Greep’s erratic character in off-kilter lyrics and storytelling.
Unsurprisingly, his upcoming visit to Newcastle (at the Cluny on 28 October) is already sold out. With the album proving to be a hit with critics and audiences, the next month could spell an exciting time for the new artist with his increasing profile in music landscapes.