Listening to Greta Van Fleet's debut album made me question the importance of context in musical analysis. Without context, Anthem Of The Peaceful Army is a relatively inoffensive 70's-esque rock album. Sure, the songwriting is pretty half-baked, and there are no musicians in the band that come close to the best from the era they are trying to revive, but, hey, the sound feels fairly fresh and unique in comparison to the indie-saturated rock industry today. In context? It's shameless, watered down mimicry. Greta Van Fleet are not just inspired by
Led Zeppelin - they replicate every angle of the band from during their early years. From the genre combinations, to the stylistic choices, to the lyrical themes, to the
Plant-esque vocals, everything feels like a Led Zeppelin tribute band - and yet, Greta Van Fleet claim Zeppelin's influence on them was "not overwhelming." It's a mockery, really.
Joshua Kiszka, the band's vocalist, has a really powerful voice that feels like a mixture of Robert Plant and
Rush's
Geddy Lee. But, despite his power, he lacks the range and diversity of Plant, and seems to always be stuck in a shrill high register. Criticisms aside, Joshua is for sure the most impressive member of the band, as the rest fail to deliver anything of much merit. When drawing comparisons to a band with such impeccable instrumentalists, such as Zeppelin, it's hard not to fall flat and seems less interesting, and that's exactly what the band do for me....