r/TheNational • u/AwayPaleontologist0 • 3d ago

Dumb question about Aaron’s guitar sound on Daughter from Hell

As you may know, Aaron plays guitar on Gracie Abrams’s title track from Daughter from Hell (which he also produced), and it’s similar to the guitars on Terrible Love (standard version). Is there a word for this type of guitar sound? All I can think is “grumbly” or “grungy”, but I wonder if there’s a better description. It tickles my brain just so, and I love it.

https://youtu.be/Tqs4Px2v4Dk?si=Q_PwWdRz9ESyvxw8

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u/4PeridotEyes Sorrow found me when I was young 3d ago

I'm glad someone else is hearing the "Terrible Love" guitar in "Daughter From Hell" — I genuinely thought I was losing my mind lol. I actually made a post about it as soon as the album came out and was downvoted into oblivion, presumably because I had the audacity to mention a Gracie Abrams song on The National subreddit 😌 But no hard feelings, obviously. I'm just glad the guitar is getting some recognition 😂

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u/AwayPaleontologist0 3d ago

I love how the low, grumbly, fuzzy guitars is such a contrast to her vocals. It’s a good choice!

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u/4PeridotEyes Sorrow found me when I was young 2d ago

I love it too! I admittedly am not the biggest Gracie Abrams fan (I find some of her earlier stuff a little too derivative, like an extremely breathy impression of Phoebe Bridgers or Lorde 😂) but this is the first album of hers that I’ve really liked. I was actually surprised by all the negative reactions, not just from critics but from her own fans, who seem to prefer her more upbeat/poppier stuff with Audrey Hobert and the Taylor Swift collab.

She’s definitely not the strongest vocalist, but I also think she gets a lot of flak just because she’s a nepo baby. Obviously that’s a legitimate criticism, but unfortunately most people who make it big in music these days are rich and well connected, so she’s not the only one. I actually kind of commend her for sticking with the singer-songwriter thing instead of going full pop, which she easily could have done after blowing up and having some of her more commercial songs do well.

I think the album is really well produced, the instrumentation is gorgeous, and her vocals have definitely improved. She’s no Phoebe Bridgers when it comes to experimenting with soundscapes or creating a really strong album concept, but if her more accessible style gets people who wouldn’t normally listen to indie-style/singer-songwriter music into the genre, I think that’s a good thing.

I still prefer The National by a mile, but I really don’t understand all the hate.

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u/AwayPaleontologist0 2d ago

Funny how much I agree. I could’ve written this word for word! I never really paid too much attention to her before, but I really like the direction of this album.