LIVELOVEDIE

Tree Leaf Music

Perpetual Groove is slowly building toward a bigger, darker, rock sound. Emerging from Savannah, GA, in 2001, the quartet quickly became a staple on the jam circuit, amassing a loyal following based on its captivating live shows. In the studio PGroove found moderate success with its 2003 debut, Sweet Oblivious Antidote, and showed considerable growth with 2004’s All This Everything, which was produced by Grammy winner Robert Hannon (OutKast). The band’s Hannon-helmed third release, LIVELOVEDIE, is its most ambitious record to date.

While there is a heavier tone to much of the material, guitarist/frontman Brock Butler’s vocals retain the emotional quality and warmth that has become a defining factor in the band’s sound. “It Starts Where It Ends,” with the refrain “You live, you love, you die,” is classic PGroove. The song builds off Butler’s simple, reflective lyrics supported by tasteful instrumentation that gives way to a soaring guitar crescendo. 

The moments on the album that show the greatest potential for gaining a larger audience are the instrumental parts. Whether it’s the dirty, lap steel middle section of “So Much As Goodbye,” the hard-hitting “May Day,” or the slightly longwinded “Speed Queen,” the jams are focused and sharp—there’s no aimless noodling or gratuitous guitar wankery.<p>

The Catch-22 for Perpetual Groove is the lyrics. The sentimental vocals are part of what sets PGroove apart, but at the same time the content often relies on surface observations that border on cliché. When Butler sings, “I’ve washed so far from the shore, but the water’s still nice” (“Two Shores”), “I try to remember it’s all in the master plan” (“It Starts Where It Ends”) and “Man enough to face it and strong enough to take the leap” (“Legends of Preston”), it’s so basic that it’s mundane.<p>

Bridging the gap from one genre (jam) to another (rock) is incredibly difficult; however, PGroove is a remarkably talented band that has shown the unique ability to write a catchy melody that will stick with the listener. If Butler can continue to develop his songwriting and cut deeper into the human experience, past the simple emotions and into the psyche, then the band will stand a chance of crossing that bridge—until then Perpetual Groove will remain one of the jam scene’s top acts.