Grails

Grails – Burning Off Impurities

With their first release for the post-rock leaning label Temporary Residence (home to such dissonant yet melodically atmospheric entities like Explosions In The Sky and Mono), the Portland-based Grails instrumental sound never feels lacking. With a rich cinematic sense, each track builds upon a hazy, and often Eastern modal, psychedelic intro into muscular propulsive epics. Think of the Doors feeding off the visual contortions and manic instability of Jim Morrison. Now minus Mr. Mojo Risin’s poetic voice, allowing the band the extra room to shift into high tension. It’s this heavy blues backbone, an aggressively amped style birthed by Cream and Black Sabbath, that the Grails inhabit and transform. Ethnic instrumentation, deep bottom bass drum thrusts and steel guitars and violins all color an air that may have you envision the expansive terrain of a spaghetti-Western back dropped against Moroccan architecture. As easily hypnotic as invigorating, the Grails are worth your effort.