I Lay You to Rest by Graien was the first recording I hit play on today when I headed fishing on Bandcamp, and within the opening few moments of Fragile, I realised that I wouldn’t need to go any deeper init the sites swirling waters as I’d found my catch of the day.
On another note, I’m having fish for tea tonight, so I light be a tad distracted.
That aside, I was sufficiently mind blown that I Lay You to Rest got slapped on repeat for the next 30 minutes or so – the EP is three songs long and clocks in at 10 minutes. Besides, fish for tea, remember – and after a few rounds with it, Graien are now one of my favourite new finds.
As I mentioned, Fragile kicks it off with a hard hitting, fast paced romp that grabs your attention from the opening blasts of Sara Neidorf’s drums that are something you have to hear to believe. The rest of the band – Letis Figueiredo, Ghaliz Harris, and Kim Vu – jump in with a song that is part black metal, part doom metal, and part jazz, and no, I’m not making that last bit up. To me, Fragile seems to have one foot quite happily planted in experimental jazz, with crazy time signatures and chord progressions and though I’m about as musically astute as a dead armadillo – so could be quite possibly wrong – it’s a vibe and a feeling that works expertly.
Next up is Tides, which I can best describe as what David Lynch’s Mullholland Drive would sound like if it was a progressive black metal song and, y’know, any good. Personal note, I fucking hate that film, but I love this track. It is a perfect balance of haunting and kick your face in and deserves multiple listens so you can pick up on all the subtle twists and turns that it has to offer.
The final track, Clouds, is probably the closest to a ‘normal’ song that Graien offer as it is something that I could actually see myself dancing to. I mean, in the privacy of my own home. After all, I’m 52 and have a beer belly that fits in two different post codes so ain’t nobody gonna want to see me shake my groove thing in public ever again.
Suffice to say, I Lay You to Rest by Graien is a fucking good place to start if you, like me, have never heard of the band before as it offers a fantastic taste of what they offer. Powerful guitars, thunderous bass, haunting melodies, a vocal screech that is as terrifying as it is primal, crazy time signatures, and one of the best drummers I’ve heard in a very long time.
Head on over the the Graien Bandcamp page and check them out for yourself.
