The Daily Spin II

The Griswolds | Be Impressive

Welcome back to the Daily Spin. For the uninitiated, this is the series in which I review an album every day of 2025.

As was the case two years ago, my favorite song from each album can be found at the playlist linked here.

Album: Be Impressive (2015)

Artist: The Griswolds

Link:

It’s FIFA music time, baby. Almost called this the first of (many) FIFA Fridays, but I’m holding back on that until I ponder a little further. For now, though, we’ll head into our journey enjoying some real solid mid-teens indie pop from one of the greats from those soundtracks.

Of no relation to Clark, the Griswolds have carved out a niche making upbeat electropop, heavy on the electro, with a sensibility about it driven from slick production. Despite being listed as a rock band on Google and other music websites, I’d frankly be a little hesitant to brand them as such when all their music has such an ostensibly pop sound.

The album is enjoyable at its best - the only real quibble I have is that for the most part, the Griswolds seem content to float in mediocrity. When it’s really good, as it is with ‘Beware the Dog’ and ‘16 Years’, you see the kind of indie poptimism that would come around years later with COIN, a visionary band ahead of their time, making great earworms that get you shimmying in your shoes. The rest of the album, however, blends forgettable after a first or second listen. Even as I was pushing through this record, I found myself wavering at times - the sound is enjoyable, but ultimately gets stale when you’re not finding that extra gear to push towards.

Rating: 7/10

Best Tracks: Beware the Dog, 16 Years

Worst Tracks: Be Impressive