Don’t be fooled by the death-metal-esque logo. UK act Grace is not here to drink your blood, but they will bewitch your senses with their stunning blend of shoegaze, indie, alternative and post-rock. Very little is known about the artist, who appears to be largely the work of one man, Alex Trouchkin.
Alex keeps a very low profile online – obviously quite deliberately – so we weren’t expecting to find out much from contacting him. But we tried anyway. A summary of what we ascertained is as follows: A singer named Orla helped with the vocals and recorded the drums at Airtight Studios. Apart from that, everything you hear is his work. It took a little over a year to record the album. Alex will play live, but I don’t know when, but when I do, everyone will know when. He’s currently writing new music, and a new album is slowly but surely on the way.
Right, on to the tunes…
The album starts with a moody sound collage – it feels a bit like the ambient start of a Bright Eyes album. Lulling you in with Remember To Forget and then knocking you down with Beautiful Comforts. As the feedback kicks in and the pulsating drums follow, we’re reminded of Hope Of The States, Mew and to a lesser extent, Pinkshinyultrablast.
This is followed by You which keeps the vibe going. There is also a slacker element here, specifically in the drawl of the vocal delivery (which also brings to mind Wolf Parade) and a Sonic Youth-like approach to the use of noise. The production has a little bit of the Phil Spector Wall-Of-Sound about it as employed by modern acts like The Raveonettes and TV On The Radio.
Fade is a shoegazey, dreamlike number that instrumentally soars. The vocals on this track are a little more exposed and feel more like David Bowie or some late 70s/early 80s other art-rock contemporary (perhaps Bryan Ferry?), and it’s a stylistic change – the first we’ve seen so far. The rhythm on this song also changes it up a bit, becoming more straight-ahead and less abstract than the songs that have come before it.
Feeling Cold reverts back to the style that has dominated the album thus far. It channels the fantastic 80s-indebted sound of The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart’s glorious second album, Belong. With chimey guitars drenched in reverb, hypnotic Peter Hook bass tones and enshrouded atmospheric vocals. Breathe starts as a shimmering soundscape but, in due course, blooms into a bit of a sing-along. It feels a bit like The Flaming Lips or Mercury Rev, and maybe even feels a little late-Oasisy when it gets a bit noisier.
Drink is another track where the vocal comes uncharacteristically to the forefront. It’s much more subdued than the rest of the record so far and is built around what sounds like a pair of acoustic guitars. Eventually, the other instruments kick in and the track is elevated to another level. Towards the end, it gets as close to demonic as the aforementioned logo would suggest, before gently turning into the softest, dreamiest moment on the album so far. This is an absolute Jekyll & Hyde of a song – approach with caution!
Lights feels kind of like early Elliott Smith as it begins, and it stays that way for the first minute. After that point, it comes into its own, and it feels really quite unlike anything else. There’s a bit of Evan Dando, a bit of Thurston Moore, but really, this is all Grace. As the song reaches its summit, it gets huge – like My Bloody Valentine meets The Horrors at their most grandiose.
Time To Shine starts and feels like it could be written by The Cure – you can almost hear Robert Smith come in just as Alex’s vocals are introduced. Orla’s voice on this track complements Alex’s beautifully, and we’re reminded of The Brian Jonestown Massacre due to its moody, sludgy psychedelic style.
Fred My Freind (sic) brings the noise – it starts like Sonic Youth and it eventually changes to remind us more of The Cure – hushed tones, exaggerated ambiance and minimal instrumentation. It then gets bigger and we’re back in Wolf Parade territory, but, in due course, the acoustic guitars give way to walls of distortion and the noise is back. It’s a cacophonous sound.
Pray is pretty heavy. We say “pretty”. It feels like a tonne of lead. It’s like Smashing Pumpkins alt-rock vibes turned up to 11. Also a bit reminiscent of stoner-rock beasts Sleep. When the sweet falsetto vocal comes in and joins in, it feels like what you imagine wading through molasses might feel like.
SkÜm follows and is a high-energy hardcore punk rock number, which is a surprising change of pace at this point in the album. The vocal here takes on a guttural metal-esque quality. This is followed by Be Yourself, which continues in the same vein and sounds a bit like The Hives at first before becoming decidedly cuter, although not for long, but in fairness, the song is only 32 seconds long, so it doesn’t have much time! This is followed by the 38-second No Care, which keeps the new punk vibe going – it almost feels like this and the preceding two songs should be their own little EP.
Heal Me Through is a jangly indie/post-punk number that recalls The Smiths and Editors. It’s excellently executed, and it must be noted that, given the number of different styles on the album, how well they are all tackled is extremely impressive. Leaving You is the last song on the album, and it feels like it is. It has that conclusive quality that all great album closers do. It feels a bit like DIIV at their most gentle and tender, until it feels like DIIV at their heaviest. It’s a fitting end to an album full of bravery, ambition and adaptation.
Written by Kinda Grizzly
