Everyone’s Gone and I Know I’m the Cause by The Greeting Committee

Review written by Plaudagio

The Greeting Committee is an American alternative and Indie rock band that creates music circling around life, relationships, and deeper emotions encompassing their personal lives. Lead singer Addison Sartino leads us through the band’s tracks with her mellow vocals and smooth inflections, her voice setting a fitting scene for the album’s bittersweet and melancholic messages.

“Cyclical” is the first track on the album, hitting the ‘indie rock’ genre square in its proverbial face. With a small build-up of (somewhat incongruous) trumpets, the best part of this song has to be the raw acoustic verse right after the bridge, giving us that first taste of Addison’s emotional, lyrical communication. This song presents a rather underwhelming introduction to the album, though it sets the scene for the overarching theme progression in its later tracks. “Popmoneyhits” and “Tell me I’m Wrong” is where the album starts to gain a better grasp on its focus. Leaning less into acoustic strings and more-so into spacy sound and instruments, we get the catchy pop that jives nicely with the discord of the lyrics. In the former, “I lose myself to get you off. I lose myself to get it all,” details artists’ struggle in the music industry, while the latter’s lyrics further deepen the feeling of hopelessness that comes with the territory. Despite some awkward vocal edits and choppiness, these two songs feel far more fitting for introducing a poppy album with downer undertones.

Diving into the next few songs, the energy seems to mellow out, a sort of calmness in the midst of the album. Flickers of hope shine through, though are simmered out when listening to the melancholic lyrics. “Where’d All my Friends Go” is, in my opinion, an amazing contender for encapsulating the entirety of the album’s feeling despite its rather simple lyrics. With the somber repetition of “Don’t know why I need your attention, don’t know why I did it again,” this song further describes the emotional turmoil in relation to broken relationships and loneliness, and it only shows tenfold in the next song, “All Alone.” Addison’s voice emotionally strains in the chorus, the distortion and reverb accentuating the almost broken and isolating feeling that is being conveyed, the upwards chromatic motion rising along with the intensity of the lyrics before falling into something more serene. It’s a somewhat haunting yet mellow song, and it’s no surprise that the lyric “Everyone’s gone and I know I’m the cause” comes from this song to be incorporated into the album title.

I expected a shift and rise in energy following those tracks. That being said, a tasteful, yet surprising, transition occurs as we move into “How it Goes,” an upbeat and catchy song keeping up the continuation of bitter lyrics. The messaging, however, feels bittersweet–a feeling almost replicating acceptance despite everything: “I was on the precipice, always make a mess of it / but hey, that’s okay. Some things never change.” The next song, “Honey Toast,” is rather underwhelming and feels out of place, to say the least, the feelings characterized in the album not so much matching up in any place besides the tone of the music. With that, comes the final track in the album. “Don’t Talk” is an amazing song to finalize the album. The energy meeting halfway as both the lyrics and music present a catchy mix of everything that had been exuded thus far. The build-up and steady reverb of the bridge lets the next verse hit hard in the best way possible; the nostalgic distortion on the acoustic strings, noise stripped of other instruments besides Addison’s light and airy voice–a section that delightfully parallels the bridge in the first track “Cyclical.” It’s a great way to end the album in an emotional and roundabout way.

Overall, I’d like to say that I find this album to be surprisingly pleasant. I don’t often find myself enjoying music such as this, and I believe this album gave me something to ponder in regards to my affinity for the alternative/indie genre. While a few tracks felt underwhelming, monotonous, and perhaps slightly awkward, I believe that the album as a whole was rather solid, and many of the pieces have a certain brilliance to them that allow them to stand out and shine on their own.