gilroy - Stop Growing

Gilroy

Stop Growing
self-released; 2017

3.5 out of 5

By Dan Weston

Gilroy is the solo project for Connor Gilroy. His release Stop Growing is an emotive four-song EP. The songs are confessional while also being extremely sparse and simple. It’s also lo-fi and sounded like a standard DIY bedroom recording to my ears. There were a good amount of things that could have been improved in the production department from the use of reverb to making the vocal feel more full.

Up first is “Circuit Ave.” where the guitar work is very basic consisting of palm muted major and minor chords. It’s all about the vocal performance. Gilroy has a good sounding voice and has a wide range of emotions. On the verse he sounds like he is lamenting but on the chorus his delivery sounds more hopeful. Overall, a catchy song that has a fluid vocal melody. Great start.

Gilroy aggressively strums on “Leo.” His high octave singing combined with the more wild approach was starting to buckle with the production. There were a number of issues with the songs that didn't manifest on the opener.

Gilroy has more success on “Talk.” His vocal performance is much better and the melancholy sounds good on him. He closes with “Norway” which was the most lo-fi sounding song on the EP but still had its moments.

Gilroy still has a little bit of work to do before being on a similar level as some of his influences like Sufjan Steven and Conor Oberst. My advice would be to spruce up the music a little. That doesn't mean adding more elements but intricate guitar picking and adding in some unique chords structures might be a good start. On that adding atmosphere, other elements might allow his songs go into unexpected areas.

I think “Circuit Ave.” was his most inspired song and not only showed off his lyrical creativity and diverse shades of emotion but also showed he is a good songwriter. 
Overall, this EP is far from perfect but also builds a foundation. I hope to hear more from him soon

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