Groundscore’s “Healthy Children”

The band Groundscore

Post by Punch Pulse Correspondent and Photographer Niki Clark www.see2photography.com
www.nikimclark.com

I’ve been really busy lately. I started a new job (yah!), traveled to Costa Rica for a week, had a bout with the summer flu, started condo shopping, organized a bridal shower, yada yada. As the rest of the city checks out for the month of August, I remain, probably the only Washingtonian that thinks that this month has been sheer chaos. Case in point. Groundscore—a  local punk rock group that consists of frontman and guitarist Zach Bellas, drummer Chase Lapp and bassist Nick Graves—sent me their debut album Healthy Children over a month and a half ago. I finally sat down to listen to it today.  I could kick myself. This album is genius.

I’m not quite sure how to describe Groundscore’s music. I know in the hour I sat down I went to about six different times in my life. It’s a little Sublime, taking me back my college years, driving around Dallas, Texas, with the windows down, 40 oz to Freedom on repeat. Then there’s the heavy jam band influence, and I’m suddenly road tripping to the Everglades, on my way to Phish’s three-day New Year’s Show in 2000. Now, I’m driving to Memphis for the Beale Street Music festival where my friend and I listened to reggae for 16 hours straight.  Apparently I do a lot of driving. And this is definitely dancing your car at the stoplight kind of music.

A song that’s sure to find its way on heavy repeat is “You Deserve It.”  What it reminds of me of I can’t put my finger on. I had three friends listen to it because I know it sounds like something, but even collectively we couldn’t figure it out. A forgotten memory, perhaps.

And it’s just Groundscore’s tunes that get you thinking. The lyrics have a depth that most new kids on the block lack. The trio meditates on life, friendship, the price of excess, and the state of today’s youth in such a way that it takes a listener by surprise.

I could sit here for a lot longer and go on and on about how Groundscore is a welcome addition to the DC punk scene. Unfortunately, my album review session time is up, as I have to be in the city in 20 minutes. Back to the busy schedule!

For more information on Groundscore, or to get your hands on Healthy Children, visit http://www.myspace.com/dcgroundscore. Then take a nice long ride.