Music Review: Green River Ordinance - The Beauty Of Letting Go

The last Band of the week of 2006 was Green River Ordinance and somehow their music review was never published.  I would like to remedy that now.

Every once in a while you come across a band so great, so talented, that you stand back a little, shake your head, and mutter in awe, “Fuck me, they’re fabulous!” Fort Worth, Texas-based Green River Ordinance (GRO) are such band. A band capable of the kind of passionate, emotionally raw songs and guitar riffs that inspire me to put my arms up in the air and sway back and forth, completely lost in their music. GRO are truly the next legend-band in the making.

With an indie-rock power-pop sound that will make you think of Third Eye Blind, Goo Goo Dolls, or Matchbox Twenty but with a twist of roots rock. Lyrics that are a little bit country, a little bit pop, a little bit rock-&-roll, filled with the kind of passionate emotional intensity you want in a good rock song. The Beauty of Letting Go, GRO’s debut album, is sincere, and dynamic, sumptuously layered with rich, warm melodies, harmonies, and rhythms.

Frontman Josh Jenkins’ raw, rootsy, sensual vocals convey the lyrics in such an emotive way that you will easily connect with every word. The guitar, bass, and drum are all perfectly judged to create GRO's fabulous brand of jangly guitar power-pop/indie rock. GRO work together in a way few bands do, all perfectly complementing each other, never letting their egos overshadow the music.

This impressive album runs the gamut from impressive power-pop guitar anthems “Breath of Life”, “Re-Run”, and “Pick Me Up”, to the slightly more roots-rock “Piece It Together”, and “Waiting For a Sign” to soft acoustic — and is that cello I hear(?) – “Everything You Are” and “Stay”; and even an ever-so-possibly religious track “Speak Through Me”. The Beauty of Letting Go is truly one of the most impressive albums of 2006 and the reason that GRO were my indie band of 2006.

Article Author: A.L. Harper

I'm a writer and music journalist originally from Salt Lake City, but now living in Scotland. I was a Punk/Goth in the '80s and these artistic influences have stayed with me; although a love of Chopin, chamber music, and Spanish guitar would seem to belie this. …

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