Photo: Cathleen Faubert and Darren L. Miller

Gretel’s back in New England after their tiny tour. $5. Lots and lots of songs.

While doubt and anxiety are common 21st century preoccupations, Gretel’s songs evince an honesty and directness usually reserved for confessionals and bathroom stalls. Lyrics of disappointment, denial, love and faith shimmer with precision and intensity, while the melodic and tonal explorations of their music unabashedly suggest that something better might be possible. The sound is eclectic–the live show finds the band juggling a multitude of instruments, from saw to typewriter, accordion to 5-gallon bucket. Whether through the existential pinch of a digital pulse, the ecstatic heights of an operatic line or the muddy optimism of a gospel choir, Gretel’s palette is broad. Each song sits within its own well-deserved world, refreshingly interpreted and never underexposed. (source)