In the past, some artists, like The Beach Boys, have released two albums within a year (a schedule that helped cause Brian Wilson’s nervous breakdown), while others like New Zealand’s Lawrence Arabia have released a single song each month for an entire year. Boise, Idaho’s Lo Fi artist Storie Grubb, however, chose to release an entire album for every month of 2019. Although it would be impossible to cover all twelve albums here, the last entry, entitled The Void Struggle, is certainly by no means the least, and in many ways it best represents the artist’s unique synthesis of garage, pop, folk, psychedelic, and DIY aesthetics.
Real name Sean S. Kelly, Storie Grubb played every instrument on the record, but the polish of his style doesn’t at all imply the work of one individual. Generally speaking, the Bandcamp corner of garage rock leans more on the music itself, but The Void Struggle contains some surprising lyrical moments of emotional vulnerability. Don’t be mistaken, there are great moments of typical slacker pop like “Shine,” but there are also songs like “Solitary Life” which are more exposed and earnest than the genre’s typical fare. Storie Grubb is a wet dream waiting to be discovered by those who will spend hours searching through Bandcamp for secret DIY gems, and The Void Struggle proves itself to be the creation of an artist with a truly singular and original identity.
