The Greeting Committee’s latest album, Dandelion is a stellar representation of what the Kansas City band stands for, keeping authenticity and vulnerability at the forefront of their music. Following their 2018 debut album, This Is It, Dandelion delivers a new sound from the band, taking a melancholic tone with gut punching lyrics as it goes through the motions of grief, losing and finding yourself.
“I wanted the record to really show the healing process, starting at a place of desperation and eventually getting to the point of being willing to accept reality,” said frontwoman Addie Sartino.
The Greeting Committee is Sartino (vocals), Brandon Yangami (guitar), Pierce Turcotte (bass) and Austin Fraser (drums). Since their formation in 2014, the indie rock band has built an impressive discography, including self-releasing their debut EP, It’s Not All That Bad, in 2015 and most recently having their music featured in the 2021 Netflix Film, “To All the Boys: Always and Forever.”
Dandelion, released via Harvest Records, opens with the album’s lead single, “Can I Leave Me Too?” Setting the tone for the album, the single captures the fresh and raw emotions of heartbreak. Sartino’s vocals throughout the track transport you to the feeling of desperation and not wanting to be left alone. The edgy instrumentals create a dreamy alternative pop soundscape adding to the urgency and emotions of the single. “Float Away” carries the same feeling of emptiness and the hazy dream-like feeling of watching life pass by. Referencing high school memories and pandemic sadness, Sartino described the track as cathartic in a recent press conference, allowing herself to explore a piece of herself she wasn’t fully aware of.
“Float Away” and the title track, “Dandelion” highlight the band’s goal of making music that makes everyone feel understood. Dandelion’s chorus, “just another day / and I’m alive” channels the reminder of loss and acceptance. Of the title track Sartino said,
“The first verse is ‘weeds in the concrete never seemed pretty now everything reminds me of me since I stopped thinkin’ of you quite as often and wrapped myself inside dandelions’ … To me that was me trying to see myself more as something that is beautiful and not something that is broken. There was something really amazing I saw online and it was like you can’t hate yourself into loving yourself like you can’t pick yourself apart so much to make you love yourself and I think that’s a lot of what this album was tackling.”
The Greeting Committee’s value of vulnerability shines through tracks like “Make Out”, the catchy and fun track finding the hopeful high after heartbreak and “Ada”, an LGBTQ anthem and homage to longtime friend, Ada Brumback. “Ada” breaks away from the introspection of the album and is inspired by a cumulation of narratives, the primary being Ada’s. Sartino noted it was important to not have the song’s entirety be about struggle, but have “Ada” end with optimism.
The drum heavy track builds intense emotions in the first two verses and eventually fades into slowed harmonies in the outro, showcasing The Greeting Committee’s importance in sparking certain feelings and emotions in their music.
“I feel like no matter whether if it’s this goofy riff, like the song Make Out, I feel that’s probably one of the goofier songs on the album versus Ada, which is probably the most serious song on the album,” said Turcotte. “I think they both took the same amount of vulnerability to bring that to everyone or even as a band to release that sort of song. I think there’s a little vulnerability to share something that you created.”
The last tracks on the album, “How Long?” and “Ten” shows the grieving process isn’t linear. “How Long?” opens with self doubt and the chorus conveys the feeling of being stuck in your head. The incorporation of a sax in the outro while Sartino sings, “Thank God, I’m changing” feels triumphant and optimistic. “Ten” beautifully concludes Dandelion with the lyrics, “it’s kind of nice to feel alright again / it’s kind of nice I feel alright.”
Dandelion showcases The Greeting Committee’s growth as musicians while staying true to the sound that has built them a dedicated fan base. The emotions expressed in Dandelion provides comfort to the inevitable roller coaster that is heartbreak and grief witn the gentle reminder we’ll all eventually be alright.
