Friends description: "Liz Harris is from Poland, and she's got a few musical projects that run the gamut from spacey Hope Sandoval type music to this, a combination of drone soundscapes and lo-fi broken east-european folk. That description is a misnomer - think folk and you imagine exactly what Grouper is not. This music has more in common with the Microphones than Devendra Banhart, and her real draw isn't her mastery of narrative po-dunk lyrics - it's her soul-melting, beautiful ethereal voice and her ear for incredibly moody - albeit lo-fi - recording aesthetics. Imagine one of the Deheza twins becoming obsessed with fuzz pedals and dark psychedelia. As Grouper, she's begun to manipulate her voice in the same manner that she does every other recorded instrument on her projects. On this first song from her newest album, her voice follows hand in hand the melody of the rhodes-come-blown-out-leslie. I can't tell what she's saying, and it truely does not make a difference to me. The atmosphere is beautiful, her voice is beautiful, and the emotions she is conveying - terrible though they must be - are beautiful as well."
― Z S, Wednesday, 18 June 2008 05:13 (fifteen years ago) link
she's from Portland, not Poland
― resolved, Wednesday, 18 June 2008 08:22 (fifteen years ago) link
Here you go:
http://www.myspace.com/grouperrepuorg
Looks like she logged in today.
We are so lucky to have her here. I've seen some really great (and always unassuming) sets from her in coffee shops, in the park...
― Nate Carson, Wednesday, 18 June 2008 09:24 (fifteen years ago) link
Love Grouper. New album is ace. Can't wait to get the vinyl.
― Herman G. Neuname, Wednesday, 18 June 2008 11:38 (fifteen years ago) link
New album is brilliant. Up there with Inca Ore's release, my best release of the year so far (I think).
― Le Bateau Ivre, Wednesday, 18 June 2008 14:03 (fifteen years ago) link
YES! I'm really digging the new one. I loved it so much that I bought a couple of her previous releases. Can't wait to get them in the mail.
― Bill in Chicago, Wednesday, 18 June 2008 14:28 (fifteen years ago) link
high praise from this review:
foxy digitalis : reviews: Grouper "Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill" http://www.foxydigitalis.com/foxyd/reviews.php?which=3440
"This is an amazing album that will most likely remain a highlight release for the year. " 10/10
― djmartian, Wednesday, 18 June 2008 15:28 (fifteen years ago) link
'grouper' CDR EP - (heavier noiser mixes of her first recordings, most of these were remixed for the first album) 'way their crept' LP - still my favorite, her harmonies & the absurd levels of tape delay bury the songs but the songs are still there 'he knows he knows he knows' EP - like the 1st LP, just as great 'wide' LP - follows on from the first LP, heavier & spacier and more intense, maybe a less instantly memorable group of songs but I need to go back and check 'flashlights: eckords' - collaboration with violinist jorge boehringer, very very very spaced xiu xiu vs. grouper - 'creepshow' - haven't heard 'cover the windows and walls' EP - only have mp3s of this so haven't spent as much time with it -- never even saw this in stores, but it's songs 'dragging a dead deer up a hill' LP - this is going to do very well for her, she's pulled back on the delays but everything still sounds covered in silt and her songwriting has taken a jump forward
she's one to watch
― Milton Parker, Wednesday, 18 June 2008 18:00 (fifteen years ago) link
Ok, I finally listened to the rest of the songs for the first time, and yes, they're all great. Not enough have just straight up said "What a graceful voice", and they should. This is peaceful death music, I love it.
I predict I will post about this again on August 3rd of this year, because that's the day I finally get back home. And when I arrive, there's going to be a small pile of her records because I'm going to have to drunkenly order a good half of those LPs and EPs Milton just mentioned. Not the Xiu Xiu one, though.
― Z S, Monday, 23 June 2008 06:26 (fifteen years ago) link
I'm going to save the S-word too - Slowdive. This wouldn't be out of place on Pygmalion.
― Z S, Monday, 23 June 2008 06:28 (fifteen years ago) link
I will also say it.
― Z S, Monday, 23 June 2008 06:39 (fifteen years ago) link
If this was a dude, you wouldn't care
― If Assholes Could Fly This Place Would Be An Airport, Monday, 23 June 2008 06:43 (fifteen years ago) link
Well, at least I still get to care about something, which is a nice consolation prize.
― Z S, Monday, 23 June 2008 06:50 (fifteen years ago) link
Yeah, still fucking awesome. This is off the newest one:
Heavy Water/I'd Rather be Sleeping
and I have two other (better) songs from Dragging a Dead Deer up a Hill here: http://headofstate.muxtape.com/
And this is a little older. HERE
― Z S, Saturday, 19 July 2008 07:02 (fifteen years ago) link
got new lp in the other day
― Herman G. Neuname, Saturday, 19 July 2008 10:29 (fifteen years ago) link
I missed buying that Dragging A Dead Deer album, can't find it anywhere. Any leads?
― sleeve, Saturday, 19 July 2008 17:12 (fifteen years ago) link
http://www.boomkat.com/search.cfm?q=grouper
― Z S, Monday, 21 July 2008 06:05 (fifteen years ago) link
There's a dude here in Portland who's just as good as Grouper. His project is called Dragging An Ox Through Water.
― Nate Carson, Monday, 21 July 2008 09:22 (fifteen years ago) link
Finally got the new one today...So amazing. Like, one of the best things I've heard all year. Its been a long time since I've been able to just sit down and let an album wash over me, but this has done it. "Stuck" in particular just makes me swoon. The melodies on this are amazing! I just ordered the re-release of the split with Inca Ore from Aquarius. Can't wait.
― jonathan - stl, Tuesday, 30 September 2008 02:07 (fifteen years ago) link
Is very good, that new one.
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 30 September 2008 02:10 (fifteen years ago) link
what is it called?
― sleeve, Tuesday, 30 September 2008 02:12 (fifteen years ago) link
"Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill"
Best album title ever too!!!
― jonathan - stl, Tuesday, 30 September 2008 02:14 (fifteen years ago) link
I just ordered the re-release of the split with Inca Ore from Aquarius. Can't wait.
Have you got it yet? Is it good? Did you order it from her website? How much was it?
Yeah, I'm still really, really into the new one. It only sounds better as it gets colder and more leaves fall off the trees.
― Z S, Sunday, 5 October 2008 19:52 (fifteen years ago) link
nice
― czn (cozwn), Wednesday, 10 December 2008 13:09 (fifteen years ago) link
vaguely recall a mention on ILX and an Inca Ore connection (blown away Ms. Saelens live recently, her LP one of few sweet spots of '08 for me)...
must investigate further!
also, this Grouper LP punching well above it's weight in obscurity here http://rateyourmusic.com/charts/top/album/2008
― fandango, Sunday, 14 December 2008 08:26 (fifteen years ago) link
The inca ore and grouper split is from 2007. It's ok, sort of a bridge between her first records and the minimalistic approach of guitar/voice style that she used on 'dragging a dead dear'.
― Moka, Sunday, 14 December 2008 09:10 (fifteen years ago) link
http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/inca_ore___grouper/split/
― Moka, Sunday, 14 December 2008 09:11 (fifteen years ago) link
Has anybody deciphered the lyrics to 'heavy water/I'd rather be sleeping'? - so far I can only make up: 'love is enormous / it's lifting me up / i'd rather be sleeping / i'd rather fall in your tidal waves / right where the deepest currents pull'
― Moka, Monday, 22 December 2008 07:25 (fifteen years ago) link
this album ! :-O
really really good.
― fandango, Monday, 22 December 2008 22:33 (fifteen years ago) link
― If Assholes Could Fly This Place Would Be An Airport, Monday, June 23, 2008 2:43 AM
― (Z S) (Z S), Monday, 22 December 2008 22:42 (fifteen years ago) link
If she was a dude she would still be 1000x more interesting than Fleet Fuxxes
― fandango, Monday, 22 December 2008 22:46 (fifteen years ago) link
^^real talk. 'Dead Deer' is on my top ten list of the year, but I don't know what she looks like (if looks are what's implied). And well, imagining the vocals as coming from a he, well that's just silly.
― Le Bateau Ivre, Monday, 22 December 2008 23:17 (fifteen years ago) link
btw, I wasn't quoting that as in "I agree with this", I was quoting that as in http://i44.tinypic.com/2mhvo8j.jpg
― (Z S) (Z S), Monday, 22 December 2008 23:58 (fifteen years ago) link
I want to say something about how this album unfolds it's pleasures like a flower, at about the same speed, without it sounding dirty.
Possibly the most gorgously intimate and non "produced" sounding thing I've heard all year too. She might as well be in the room.
― fandango, Sunday, 28 December 2008 23:03 (fifteen years ago) link
This goes down well with a copy of Chris Ware's graphic novel The Smartest Kid on Earth and my Mom's fried boneless fish.
― dreamsonvhs, Saturday, 11 April 2009 07:34 (fifteen years ago) link
Plenty of us care about Sonic Boom!
― the girl from spirea x (f. hazel), Saturday, 11 April 2009 09:06 (fifteen years ago) link
I picked this up on a whim today from amazon's mp3 store, where it's on sale for $1.99. It's remarkably gorgeous!
― Euler, Wednesday, 29 April 2009 14:53 (fifteen years ago) link
by "this" I mean the Dragging a Dead Deer album
Deeply amused by "fart alert"
― Shannon Whirry & the Bad Brains, Wednesday, 29 April 2009 16:55 (fifteen years ago) link
That's a damn good price (I paid $14.99 retail) and almost makes me want to switch over to buying in digital format... but not really. xpost
― I just wish he hadn't adopted the "ilxor" moniker (ilxor), Wednesday, 29 April 2009 17:41 (fifteen years ago) link
That's exactly my sentiment, ilxor. But if a crazy low price like that leads to more people getting into her music, it's all for the better. She deserves it.
― Gerard (Le Bateau Ivre), Wednesday, 29 April 2009 17:44 (fifteen years ago) link
Baffling, pointless review on Tinymixtapes of the live show:
The show is sold out, but most fans are waiting to pile in after the opening act, Grouper — a one-woman showcase of bullshit. Imagine Enya making airport symphonies for hipsters. I try to salvage something from the fuzzy reverb and her long, lonely wails, but I can’t stop picturing her masturbating in front of a full-length mirror. Self-indulgence, indeed.
― I just wish he hadn't adopted the "ilxor" moniker (ilxor), Friday, 12 June 2009 04:12 (fourteen years ago) link
...but you write for tinymixtapes.com
― ya'll are the ones who don't know things (Z S), Friday, 12 June 2009 04:14 (fourteen years ago) link
ugh.
― original bgm, Friday, 12 June 2009 16:38 (fourteen years ago) link
Really? That's news to me!
― I just wish he hadn't adopted the "ilxor" moniker (ilxor), Friday, 12 June 2009 18:14 (fourteen years ago) link
if you're going to choose such an ambiguous username...
― suggestzybandias (jim), Friday, 12 June 2009 18:16 (fourteen years ago) link
Hahaha, no no, that was meant as a response to the reviewer, for some reason. I saw my comment this morning and wondered what the hell I was talking about, because I don't really have any beef with tinymixtapes.com.
That AOL sonned thread has me thinking about who I do and do not have beefs with today.
― ya'll are the ones who don't know things (Z S), Friday, 12 June 2009 18:21 (fourteen years ago) link
it's kinda weird with reviews like that where you can't tell if the reviewer is trying to be funny... or if they're just trying to come up with the most awe-inspiring humorless zings to satisfy their explosive rage at the act in question.
― guammls (QE II), Friday, 12 June 2009 19:58 (fourteen years ago) link
I don't really mind Enya as a reference (Enya is pretty awesome imo tho) and I have been digging pretty heavily on Dead Deer for the last couple weeks.
― ❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉Plaxico❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉ (I know, right?), Friday, 12 June 2009 20:01 (fourteen years ago) link
Enya making airport symphonies for hipsters is the kind of stuff my friends say about the downtempo balearic cheeze i listen to. it kind of goes hand in hand with "elevator music for grad students", a term which used to bug me but i think i'm ok with it know
― guammls (QE II), Friday, 12 June 2009 20:13 (fourteen years ago) link
yeah it's pretty reminiscent of some of the stuff on foreign body
― ufo, Saturday, 28 August 2021 15:16 (two years ago) link
Liz graces the cover of the Wire. https://www.thewire.co.uk/issues/451
Plus an article about her favorite sea-related art: https://www.thewire.co.uk/in-writing/essays/return-to-the-source-grouper-s-favourite-art-about-the-sea
― irerisered, Sunday, 29 August 2021 08:53 (two years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1HoarnBVbk
― ufo, Thursday, 16 September 2021 00:37 (two years ago) link
Does sound like Ruins with guitar. Will be a devastating winter listen, I'm sure.
― Indexed, Thursday, 16 September 2021 19:54 (two years ago) link
“Ode to the Blue” has utterly captivated me these past few days … such quiet intensity. I hope the rest of the album mostly sounds like this
― missingNO, Saturday, 18 September 2021 15:24 (two years ago) link
you're in luck
― ufo, Sunday, 19 September 2021 00:40 (two years ago) link
First listen to the new album. I wonder what people will make of this in 50 or 100 years? Will they think we finally found the correct equipment for recording hauntings? This is beautiful and captivating but, to mix metaphors, it is like watching someone slowly fade out of existence.
― Vanishing Point (Chinaski), Friday, 22 October 2021 07:35 (two years ago) link
My god at Kelso (Blue Sky).
i've spent enough time with this now to be confident it's up with her best
― ufo, Friday, 22 October 2021 09:37 (two years ago) link
The last track on this LP is like finally looking at the sky on a beautiful day after spending all day in a shadowy house - it’s like running full tilt into an emotional wall
Best Grouper/Harris in nine years (with apologies to “The Original Faces”
― Legalize Suburban Benches (Raymond Cummings), Friday, 22 October 2021 09:53 (two years ago) link
When that first proper verse in “Kelso” comes …
― Legalize Suburban Benches (Raymond Cummings), Friday, 22 October 2021 10:26 (two years ago) link
I’m gonna play this on loop at my house in halloween to spook children.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Friday, 22 October 2021 14:40 (two years ago) link
wow. love the vocals on Kelso. lovely
― gman59, Friday, 22 October 2021 14:58 (two years ago) link
this is great
― Communist Hockey Goblin (sleeve), Friday, 22 October 2021 15:42 (two years ago) link
loving this
― Indexed, Friday, 22 October 2021 16:20 (two years ago) link
Kelso is so good. Aside from the otherworldly Paradise Valley tunes, as pretty as anything I've heard from her.
― Indexed, Sunday, 24 October 2021 02:20 (two years ago) link
it's her best since AIA, not counting Paradise Valley - wish there was a whole album's worth of that
― ufo, Sunday, 24 October 2021 08:25 (two years ago) link
Only four tracks in, but oh my god that opener
― josh az (2011nostalgia), Monday, 25 October 2021 03:45 (two years ago) link
and oh my god kelso!!!!
― josh az (2011nostalgia), Monday, 25 October 2021 04:09 (two years ago) link
once again, thank you based liz
I like how “the way her hair falls” is not just a (natural) loop but a loop that breaks
― Legalize Suburban Benches (Raymond Cummings), Monday, 25 October 2021 16:16 (two years ago) link
yeah Paradise Valley is really special. would love more in that style, oh man
― gman59, Monday, 25 October 2021 16:22 (two years ago) link
headache is a worldie
'promise' from the new one is very special. imagine being that quiet with someone.
― maelin, Monday, 25 October 2021 20:23 (two years ago) link
🚨🚨🚨🚨whoa... new RAUM (Liz Harris + Jefre Cantu-Ledesma) 2xLP ???https://t.co/cJCoQsdrRNi loved their first album together. this one is already sounding gorgeous & deeply zoned, pure drift mode— Good Willsmith (@GoodWillsmith) February 4, 2022
― Karl Malone, Friday, 4 February 2022 18:09 (two years ago) link
it RULES so far
― Karl Malone, Friday, 4 February 2022 18:26 (two years ago) link
this is the good stuff
― Karl Malone, Friday, 4 February 2022 18:27 (two years ago) link
Oh nice!
Apparently there is more than one Raum - Spotify shows a pic and bio for some electronic musician. Looks like their discographies are mixed up too. (Not the usual imposter shit that happens - I think this is legitimately two artists using the same name.)
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Friday, 4 February 2022 18:28 (two years ago) link
i'm still in the middle of my first listen. very, very pleasing mix of guitar, piano, field recordings, and synths (very The Alps, which makes sense)
― Karl Malone, Friday, 4 February 2022 18:43 (two years ago) link
the last track is 20 minutes long, i'm so pumped
here is the earlier album: https://grouper.bandcamp.com/album/event-of-your-leaving
going to listen to that one later, but today's release is plenty for repeat listening for now
― Karl Malone, Friday, 4 February 2022 18:44 (two years ago) link
Jefre Cantu-Ledesma is severely underrated. Very prolific too.
― Evan, Friday, 4 February 2022 19:21 (two years ago) link
It's a miracle I nabbed that Paradise Valley 7" back when that came out because recently the special editions of her releases are scooped up as soon as they drop! I was lucky though, because when that 7" was gone it was gone. At least I could still get "normal" versions of these more recent offerings.
― Evan, Friday, 4 February 2022 19:35 (two years ago) link
yo this is terrific
i like jefre cantu-ledesma a lot but sometimes it feels like he sands the rough edges down a little too far, liz adds a little texture back
― adam, Friday, 4 February 2022 20:04 (two years ago) link
^^^ same
― Karl Malone, Friday, 4 February 2022 20:33 (two years ago) link
they are a very good duo, sounds and methods that work well and reveal new things in each other's music
― Karl Malone, Friday, 4 February 2022 20:38 (two years ago) link
To be fair to Jefre his albums generally all sound a bit different, some rougher than others.
― Evan, Friday, 4 February 2022 20:43 (two years ago) link
this is pleasant
i figure i should dig more into cantu-ledesma at some point, i liked on the echoing green a few years back, especially "a song of summer" which was an incredible shoegaze epic. no idea where to go from there though
― ufo, Saturday, 5 February 2022 02:25 (two years ago) link
saw her play last night -- my first time ever seeing her -- at a sold out theater in portland last night, maybe 150 people total, most everyone seated. while it mostly blended together song to song, i definitely picked out "alien observer", "headache", "living room", and i believe parts of "i'm clean now" and "vanishing point"? she played electric guitar and a mixing board from what I could tell. the visuals were often gorgeous and hypnotic, some unforgettable.
by happenstance i ended up sitting next to some of her friends and she stopped to chat with them just before going onstage, and she introduced herself to me and told me I looked sharp. so i'm good for awhile!
― Clay, Wednesday, 6 April 2022 23:11 (two years ago) link
she introduced herself to me and told me I looked sharp. so i'm good for awhile!
whoa, that's awesome! definitely one for the back of the book quote!
i saw grouper once, a few years back in chicago, the athletic association. that was such a lovely night, maybe a slightly larger crowd (200? guessing) but also very intimate, and everyone was so quiet. lovely memories.
― Karl Malone, Wednesday, 6 April 2022 23:38 (two years ago) link
yeah it was pin-drop quiet, someone dropped their phone on the floor near the end of the performance and it was like a bomb went off
― Clay, Wednesday, 6 April 2022 23:45 (two years ago) link
but even then, i'm sure one of her mics picked up the sound faintly and it softly entered the woozy reverb sound to pleasing effect
― Karl Malone, Wednesday, 6 April 2022 23:51 (two years ago) link
I saw her the other night in BK and it was the best I'd ever seen her. I've been trying to find the reworked version she did of "False Horizon" the other night because it blew me away. The only thing i could find is this upload from that same show shot on mini dv but it does the job. truly beautiful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu2NGV1UKxE
starts at 21:08 in case my link loses the timecode
― gman59, Wednesday, 25 May 2022 15:29 (one year ago) link
I also saw her there but on Thursday, great show.
― Evan, Wednesday, 25 May 2022 15:31 (one year ago) link
someone asked me if helen would tour. i laughed and then became very sad
― flappy bird, Tuesday, September 22, 2015 3:27 PM (seven years ago)
They're touring now! A few dates down the west coast: http://www.groundcontroltouring.com/artists/helen
I live nowhere near but someone taped the first night in Portland last week and put it on D!me, sounds great. A few new songs, so hopefully a new record in the works.
― city worker, Monday, 5 December 2022 13:52 (one year ago) link
i was at the portland show, it was great, though felt like they oversold tickets at the very small venue. viewing space was shoulder to shoulder packed and there were dozens and dozens of people in the overflow area. nobody in the band spoke a single word or even glanced at the crowd, which is always part of the LH experience. mostly just felt honored to be able to see Helen, felt like spotting a ghost in the daylight.
― Clay, Monday, 5 December 2022 19:18 (one year ago) link
My last.fm tells me I didn't listen to a single Grouper song last year. Just put Alien Observer on and can sense why: the experience of lockdown is right there in the fabric of the music, like comet tail scintilla, blown back into itself.
― I would prefer not to. (Chinaski), Tuesday, 6 February 2024 22:07 (three months ago) link
After Borges: the pandemic invents its musical precursors.
― I would prefer not to. (Chinaski), Tuesday, 6 February 2024 22:09 (three months ago) link