The Greeting Committee’s Dandelion is Truthful, Moving, and Inspires Reflection
Featured Photo Credit: Elizabeth Miranda
At their core, The Greeting Committee is a band of storytellers.
Their latest release, Dandelion, is ultimately a collection of deeply touching stories communicated through transformative music that maintains an indie-rock feel. This band-on-the rise is home-grown in Kansas City. Now, they are a self-made band tracing back to a history of open mic nights before finding their music soundtracked in Netflix’s To All the Boys: Always and Forever. It wasn’t a journey that was easy to navigate for the band, nor is it one that is over. However, the release of Dandelion promises a future for the band far beyond what they had imagined at their school’s little talent show.
Addie Sartino, the band’s lead singer, discusses the band’s position in the industry. She says, “When you’re 23 it’s like you’re on your own in the music industry all of a sudden…”. She trails off before adding “it’s very bizarre”. What Addie is referring to is that initial success they found as being the new promising band in the scene.
Pierce Turcotte reflected on their biggest challenge in creating Dandelion and says, “I think our standards became much higher which makes it hard to try to beat yourself or whatever version of yourself you have in your head.” With Dandelion being the band’s sophomore album, the pressure was on. Navigating this industry can be hard enough without that weight.
Luckily, their hard work seems to have paid off.
The sounds of The Greeting Committee are the perfect and balanced fusion of candid indie with a polish of professionalism. This blend allows for each individual member’s strengths to magnify and compliment each other.
While the whole album truly rises to the occasion, there are two absolute stand out songs: “Float Away” and “Ada”.
“Float Away” has some of the strongest expressions of struggling with mental health and depression that we’ve seen from songwriters in a very long time. Full of metaphoric prose and vivid narration, the tune allows listeners to get lost in the numb, yet chilling feelings of being of “sinking fast”.
Addie describes the experience of writing the song as cathartic. “When I was done,” she says. “It let me into a piece of myself that I wasn’t fully aware of.” She explains that parts of the song reference feelings and moments from high school. “Float Away” has been a work in progress for awhile and now that she’s shared it with us, you can see the craft behind it and feel her truth.
“Ada” takes a bit of a different storytelling stance. This time, The Greeting Committee tells a story that isn’t inherently their own. “Ada” is a story of uplifting the trans experience through the lens of their friend. “I’m not a part of the trans community and so I wanted to use a friend to use a friend of mine and listen to their story and amplify their story,” explains Addie. Not only does “Ada” empower the LGBTQ+ experience, but it shows the way that The Greeting Committee humanizes their community, friends, and fans.
Brandon Yangmi says, “It is cool, though, to like write a song that has to be bigger than just your experience and emotions.”
Truthfully, that seems to be a running theme through Dandelion. Even in songs clearly, from the band’s own experiences, they always seem to have this relatability factor that goes beyond them. The album draws listeners in.
Even when you’re alone in your room breathing in the lyrics, you’re not truly alone. Listening to Dandelion is like sitting around a campfire under the stars, trading stories of trouble, loss, and growth. It’s an album of reflection. You breathe in the charring fire scent and get lost in the emotions of the night as you close your eyes. When the album ends, you open them again and are back alone in your room, but somehow you’re different now.
It’s a transcendent experience. Dandelion is one of those albums that makes you a better person just by listening to it. Addie says, “Overall, I don’t know if there’s necessarily a message and if there is, I haven’t uncovered it yet.” But that’s sort of the beauty in it; we each get to choose our own message to find.
Dandelion is a promising growth from where the band was to now. As they continue to create and share with us these stories, it’s almost certain we’ll continue to connect with them and each other through them. In the end, that sense of community and uplifting each other no matter our struggles or pasts is evident through both their music and who they are as people.
Pierce says, “There is a lot of joy in having that connection.”
I’d add that there’s a sense of peace, too.
Listen to Dandelion here:
