2023-11-26 17:24:08
For Anches And Size, the successor to the 2017 predecessor Chalice Hymnal and the band’s first studio stay together in 15 years Grails two decades following their debut album, they no longer have anything to prove to anyone.
This one from the group – the two heads Alex Hall and Emil Amos (About, Holy Sons) stand Jesse Bates, Ilyas Ahmed and AE Paterra (Zombies, Majeure) before – even a fairly accurately made statement is underlined quite effortlessly in the overlong final title track over 12 minutes, when jazzy world music practices a trademark showmanship under a psychedelic fog in the coordinate system of post-rock, which works so informally, with few surprises and without risk, without ever to become complacent – simply offers a pleasant journey to destinations where you would rather have no one as a guide than Grails has, routine or not.
Round and coherent, but also not very exciting and, at least for the loyal fan, does not pose any challenges, while one loves to immerse themselves in this mystical sound world, the Americans’ officially eighth studio album is ultimately content to only show any ambitions in the opening phase, however Grails do this even there primarily subversively: Sad & Illegal dives into pathos guitar beyond with synth Pink Floyd into a latent softpornocore flair, howls before the expectant, picturesque grandeur of the Oriental yacht reveling in the mild heat of a percussive action ambience, latent funk drifting noncommittally through the cheesy sultriness.
Anches and Measure („translates from French to “Reeds of Maat,” metaphorically locating listeners in an attempt to enter the Afterlife—the Field of Reeds“, as Popmatters explains) then, underwhelmingly, less breaks into anachronism (because: how exciting would it be if a band that is so influenced by local impulses gave themselves over entirely to the temporal component?!), but maintains familiar ones Virtues.
The contemplation Viktor’s Night Map is built on a gentle beat with prairie guitars, spreading its arrangements warm and soft in the hallucinogenic spectrum into the depths as a sublimely popping loading screen, meanwhile Sisters of Bilitis as a sonic cosmopolitan, acting only beyond conventional songwriting obligations, but still strolling in a relaxed, sinister way towards epic opulence.
Pool of Gem Afterwards, however, it seems like a meandering intermediate piece, lost in thought, alone and occupied with oneself Evening Song (in which an ethereal shimmer over brass instruments and a rising and falling wave of longing moves between introspective and outburst) feels somewhat guilty with its sobering, uneventful finale.
If Black Rain wandering along the electronic fringes of the band, skillfully and hypnotically turning himself and the buttons on the desk in circles, this is also an exemplary moral image.
„Grails never really borrowed any one thing for very long. It was always like we get into Turkish music, and it’s boom! Now it’s in one song. On the next record, we get into this particular part of German music—it’s on half of the next record. It’s always moving. Like we’re into French music, but we don’t stay on it too long.Grails explain in an interview.
„What you’re seeing in The Burden of Hope to Burning Off Impurities to Black Tar Prophecies to Take Refuge to all the way to Anches En Maat—is that we’re showing you our appreciation of life—of other people—and we want to be part of this international dialogue.” Meanwhile, the conversation doesn’t start yet Grails pass by, but they only really determine it to a limited extent. Now all the cultural impressions just merge in a less explicit way Anches And Size Without consistency in opening up new horizons, there is also a not so concrete and definitive impression of sitting between chairs at the entrance to the characterful eclectic soundtrack. This isn’t necessarily to be understood as a negative thing, there really are worse comfort zones.
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