Greta Van Fleet put out their debut LP yesterday, and the rock world at large is finally able to see if they live up to the hype. GVF is one of the most hyped and anticipated groups of the past several years, being slotted at festivals all over and nearly ubiquitous in music publications since they dropped two EPs earlier this year. Usually coverage goes something like this: “These guys sounds JUST LIKE Led Zeppelin! And they are only in high school. They are going to save rock!”

And it’s true. Greta Van Fleet sound very much like Zeppelin, especially frontman Josh Kiszka, who is an uncanny dead-ringer for Robert Plant. As a matter of fact, his howl so evokes the legendary golden god that I wouldn’t forgive anyone for thinking that one of their songs is a forgotten Zep B-side.

In the lead up to the release, I couldn’t decide if I wanted them to fail or succeed. If people like this stuff, why not just listen to the genuine article? Robert Plant still tours and puts on a heck of a show. At the same time, I am still drawn to that sound, and if they do it right, who am I to complain?

Their full length album, Anthem of the Peaceful Army, met a decidedly mediocre critical response, most people noting how they exhibit a dearth of originality and songwriting chops on top of an expected naivete. These early reviews stroked my smug side: that’s right, you wannabees, don’t ever presume to imitate the Gods of Rock.

Lo and behold, then, that I had a great time listening to Anthem. It was an absolutely beautiful day out, and I bumped it as I drove around to the store, got my haircut, and generally enjoyed the day. It’s great driving music. At the end of the day I don’t think my DNA can resist hearing some straight up bluesy hard rock coming through the speakers. Let’s get this out of the way: the band can play well, and writes some decent riffs. Aesthetically, they hit all the marks, from the acoustic breakdowns, to wailing about wicked women, to the epic guitar buildup and fade out. Yes, Kiszka checks all the boxes on his Plant-isms, but ultimately you can’t control the sound of your voice; if that’s what he sounds like, that’s what he sounds like. Closer “Lover, Leaver (Taker, Believer)” ends things on a high note is a spacey jam that would do the early ’70s proud.

One aspect sticks out to me: they have several songs explicitly addressing humankind’s responsibility (that it’s on the verge of failing) to serve as caretakers of the earth. Anthem‘s “Watching Over” and earlier “Black Smoke Rising” make their environmental concerns clear. It’s cool that a group in the limelight is saying something worthwhile (a trait that Led Zeppelin frankly did not do), especially when it fits in so well with their hippie aesthetic. I’d appreciate them much more if they continued this trend.

There are a couple points that don’t land. Lead single “When the Curtain Falls” contains one of the more memorable melodies, but the lead guitar over the chorus directly lifts the riff from Zep’s “Ten Years Gone” (1975), which seems too egregious for anyone’s good. The aforementioned “evil woman” tropes of “You’re the One” feel a little tone deaf considering this is 2018. Also, some of the criticism of their songwriting has merit. The songs sound great as they play, but don’t really stick around once they’re over. By the end of the album you get the feeling that it all sounds the same. Their first EP Black Smoke Rising contained a more consistent (albeit much shorter) set of songs.

It’s funny: there has been no shortage of “rock revivalists” over the years: Jet, The Darkness, Wolfmother, et. al.. They were all at one point hailed as the saviors of “REAL rock,” but all faded away to cult audiences. I don’t remember any of them receiving the same attention, and I wonder why. Perhaps it is the current culture. GVF leans very hard on the mystical, hippie side of Zeppelin’s persona, and perhaps that resonates with a generation raised on a festival culture that explicitly evokes golden age flower power. Or perhaps it’s been just long enough since a new rock band has broken big, and they simply came along at the right time. Either way, I don’t think it’s a bad thing that people are appreciating hard rock. Maybe Greta’s popularity will inspire younger fans to look up their influences and get into the true good stuff.

At the same time, Greta Van Fleet’s pastiche of Zeppelin has to be taken with a grain of salt — it’s just too obvious. Despite all of the positives I just listed about them, something just seems…off. They don’t seem to have gotten big on their own merits, just the sound and aesthetics that they evoke. I’m all for people playing the music they want to play and emulating their heroes, but I’m not sure what makes these guys worthy of fame over any other garage rock band in the country. True, Led Zeppelin drew on traditional blues and rock tropes to inform their sound and songwriting, but they then completely remade it into something that was revolutionary that they could their own. Greta Van Fleet don’t do anything with the already established formula, and (unlike the aforementioned Jet and The Darkness) don’t have the songwriting to back it up. So while they sound good when they play, I’m not really sure what they bring to the conversation to warrant the hype. Hopefully Greta Van Fleet continue to play and, as they mature, find an angle of their own.

Much of this can probably be chalked up to the bandmembers’ age. They haven’t experienced enough to imbue their songs with the raunch and depth that make Zep songs so powerful. Honestly, Anthem of the Peaceful Army doesn’t sound that different from what my high school band would have made if we had had the opportunity to record a big budget album. In every interview I’ve read with them, they seem genuine in their love of the music and wanting to bring sincerity back to a mainstream world that they see as dominated by artificial pop. I think they suffer a bit from a naive sense of cultural nostalgia. Every generation has corny pop, and every generation has real artists. True artists survey the world around them, interpret it, and use their creativity to create something new that say something about themselves and the world they inhabit. Just because something isn’t “rock” doens’t make it inherently phoney. I realize that now, but as a teenager I didn’t, so I understand where they are coming from. They want RAWK, and that’s okay in my book.

I probably would have loved this album in high school, just as I love Wolfmother, so my high school self gives it 4/5 . However my current self wants a few more memorable songs and a personality, so I give it 2/5 rock-on-devil-horns.