What’s special about Greta Van Fleet?

January 16, 2019 09:49 pm | Updated 09:49 pm IST

There are times when one becomes a rock band’s fan purely by chance. Last week, a friend happened to ask me which new bands I really enjoyed, and I mentioned Death Cab For Cutie, Muse, The War On Drugs, The National, Alt-J and The Black Keys, which are all over a decade old. He replied that though he hadn’t heard them, an American act called Greta Van Fleet had become a rage last year.

Energetic sound

The name sounded interesting, almost something like a cross between Van Halen and Fleetwood Mac. But on scrutiny, they sounded closer to Led Zeppelin than anybody else. I checked two songs ‘Highway Tune’ and ‘Safari Song’. Vocalist Josh Kiszka had a range and an eagle screech that came straight out of Led Zeppelin Robert Plant’s textbook. Their music style was very 1970s classic rock, full of energy and punch.

Named after a local resident, Greta Van Fleet belongs to Frankenmuth, Michigan, and comprises three brothers, Josh, guitarist Jake and bassist Sam Kiszka, who are joined by drummer Danny Wagner. They are in their early 20s. Singer Josh looks like just another college kid, a bit of a mischievous brat. No rock star image, but check out his pipes. No wonder half the world is calling them the next Led Zeppelin, though some reviewers have also traced influences of singers Janis Joplin and Ronnie James Dio.

Even Robert Plant has gone on record admiring Josh’s ‘huge and beautiful’ voice. “They are Led Zeppelin One. The boy has borrowed the voice from someone I know very well,” he quipped in a TV interview. The comparisons may have their advantages and disadvantages, of course. With everyone likening them to one of the world’s greatest rock bands, it may act as a mindblock for many listeners. But the fact is that they have released a lot of original material, with a sound that’s quite their own. More important, they are creating a bridge between younger audiences and those who grew up on Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and their ilk. There’s a prominent blues-rock feel in their guitaring too.

Right formula

The forthcoming Grammy awards will be important, as Greta Van Fleet have been nominated for best new artiste, best rock performance (for ‘Highway Tune’), best rock song (’Black Smoke Rising’) and best rock album ( From The Fires ). Their latest album Anthem Of The Peaceful Army , featuring the songs ‘When The Curtain Falls’, ‘Anthem’ and ‘Lover, Leaver (Taker, Believer)’, topped the Billboard rock charts. They have had packed shows across the US, Paris and Japan, and the YouTube link of their Austin City Limits Music Festival is quite a rage.

The band has done its share of cover versions too, popular streams being Sam Cooke’s ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’, Led Zeppelin’s ‘Whole Lotta Love’ and Adele’s ‘Rolling In The Deep’. Clearly, their plan is to get the old-timers into their music too.

Greta Van Fleet is obviously on a high. The question, of course, is about how long they will last. The good thing is that they have age on their side, and they have the right formula. It’s not often one comes across a new band which sounds equally good in the drawing room, in a car, on the radio, live in a club or in a stadium.

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