Gritch

Gritch was an indie/electro-pop band that formed in Denver in 2006, released a couple of albums between 2008 and 2010, played across the city and then broke up in 2014. Luckily for us, the band has recently reformed, and has marked the occasion with a remix of its song “Distance.” The remix opens with an almost spooky line before blossoming into a piece of electro-pop magic. It’s both ethereal and dreamy. The band has a handful of other tracks up on Spotify, and the members say they're working on new material. Stay tuned. - The Denver Westword

The members of Gritch were definitely on to something titling their debut full-length The World Was Asleep... The music presented here is perfect for an inexplicably early start on an uneventful and unexpected day off, when everything feels hazy, peaceful and comfortingly dreamlike for longer than you have any right to expect. The combination of electronic pop and traditional rock instrumentation recalls the sublimely sentimental and melancholy tones of Technique-era New Order and OMD circa Architecture and Morality. "Sunday Morning Train" is the perfect song for a rainy day in early spring, while "In the Meantime" is classic down-tempo synth pop in an era littered with superficial attempts at innovative soundscaping. Displaying an instinct for moodily uplifting melodies, Gritch's initial offering is impressive by anyone's standards. - The Denver Westword

Christian Atencio and Sean Payton formed Gritch in the spring of 2006, brought together by a mutual love for well-crafted, well-produced pop songs informed by simple melodies. The band's debut album, The World Was Asleep, is full of refreshingly spare songs with subtly lush atmospheres and a penchant for taking a melancholy undertone and turning it into a yearning hopefulness. Like the Cure and Depeche Mode, Gritch (due at the Larimer Lounge on Saturday, November 6) mixes synthesizers with more traditional rock instrumentation and electronic drums. Atencio's winsome vocals and acoustic guitar ground the music, while Alejandro Parra's ethereal and wiry guitar work and Payton's multi-instrumental acrobatics weave the stuff of daydreams into the songs. Celebrating the release of its latest album, the gorgeously stark Arrivals & Departures, Gritch is back on stage after an extended hiatus. - The Denver Westword

The world may continue going blue in the face while holding its breath for a new Postal Service release—in the meantime, Denver has its own flag-bearers of electronica-spiked pop in Gritch. There's not a shred of freshness in the group's synths-plus-sighs sound, but the new EP Sunday Morning Train—whose release is being celebrated at the Larimer Lounge Saturday—is a simultaneously warm and icy slice of aural sweetness. - The Onion

I respect any band willing to post nearly half of their new album on their Myspace page for cheapskates like me. I probably wouldn’t have picked up Gritch’s new album, "The World Was Asleep" (released this August), if I hadn’t had the opportunity to sit down and meticulously listen to the six tracks that the trio posted for free listening on their page.
My initial thought was that any band listing Depeche Mode and The Postal Service as their influences probably self-produces demo-grade tripe in their basement on the weekends. I was also more than a little put off by the pretentious album title. Lucky for them, the power of “free” is strong. "Asleep" is very soft, the vocals a little too nasal, and the tracks quite similar – but there were some surprising qualities. It didn’t sound like anything else. I couldn’t just set my headphones down, dismissing them as another Dave Gahan or Death Cab for Cutie wannabe group.
For what it’s worth, this band is completely different.
Melodic tracks like "It Came to an End" layer electro-pop orchestral sound effects and repetitive drum machine rhythms. Some of the other tracks, like "Sunday Morning Train" – which was my least favorite track, although it has twice as many plays as the others – has a repetitive guitar sequence: the only exception to my own statement about originality. The song opens with a remarkably similar opening to Death Cab’s A Lack of Color; I’m not saying it was a rip off, but anyone familiar with Death Cab’s Transatlanticism will notice the resemblance.
That aside, the album is remarkably true to its genre; it truly is electro-pop. More than a couple of fifteen-year-old kids with expensive music software and too much time on their hands, Gritch offers catchy music with an electronic base and reasonably meaningful and concrete lyrics, that help balance out the slightly nasal vocals.
- P.U.L.P Issue 6 - Dec 2008