GIVE ME, GIVE ME (feat. ORL)
‘GIVE ME, GIVE ME’ is one of the latest singles released by the artist Teri Gender Bender. TGB has released a plethora of new music this year in the form of singles and EPs and I have been keeping up with her releases for the most part, but this single was especially interesting to me because it features Omar Rodriguez-Lopez. ORL is one of my favorite guitar players and composers and he has done a lot of work with TGB in the past that I have really enjoyed. They have both done work on each other’s solo albums and have been bandmates in both Crystal Fairy and Bosnian Rainbows.
‘GIVE ME, GIVE ME’ opens with a shuffling drum machine beat that sounds like sampled sounds from an acoustic kit. In the beginning and middle of the song, the guitars are very atmospheric and play repetitive melody lines that build and evolve throughout the song. ORL is known for his dissonant yet melodic guitar work, though it is rather toned down for this song. If you listen to any of his work with his band The Mars Volta then you will understand what I mean. The vocals on this track are largely made up of harmonies between ORL and TGB and remind me of the vocals done on the track ‘Atlantis is Rising” off ORL’s album ‘Blind Worm Pious Swine’. Transitioning to the second half of the song, the guitars become a bit more present and build into a solo to end the song. ORL’s solo is fairly low in the mix, though it is still very dynamic and is definitely a “serve the song” type solo. While ORL’s influence on this track was impactful and apparent, he didn’t take over the song. This track is still very much a Teri Gender Bender song. Both melodically and arrangement-wise, this song is similar to some of the other singles TGB has released this year. The sound on this track, as well as the other singles released this year, is definitely a development in the style of past projects TGB has worked on and is more experimental.
I really enjoyed this single and the more I hear it the more I like it. Even though I have been keeping up with TGB’s releases this year, I am still yet to hear every track, though I fully intend to. If you have ever enjoyed either of these musicians’ past work then you will most likely like this single. It is a great meeting point in both of their sounds and they ally well together. I am looking forward to TGBs future releases and I am hoping for a full-length album soon!