Klatzke
02/10/09, 10:02 PM
Grammatics - Grammatics
Release Date: March, 2009
Record Label: Dance to the Radio
I feel rather dwarfed by the first review for this album which praised it as an album on the level of Radiohead's OK Computer and Kid A. In other words, an album deserving of a perfect score. Upon my first listen of Grammatics, I thought it was just a fan raving about his new favorite band. However, I was recently wandering along the halls of my school when I realized that he's closer to the truth than I originally believed. You see, that was the first time that I actually had a chance to listen to Grammatics on anything other than either my laptop's terrible compressed speaker or my current junker car that's lacking quite a bit in the audio department. It took me listening to it through headphones to hear all of the delicate intricacies that makes this such a riveting album.
Grammatics is one of the few albums released in the last couple of years that I can actually deem "unique." Their style of unhindered pop, rock, or whatever you want to refer to it as, is so full of a sense of grandeur that it takes on a sound all of it's own. The incorporation of strings into many of their arrangements give the tracks a different feel than if they'd stuck to the standard guitar, bass, and drum approach. The word dramatic seems like it has a negative connotation, but these tracks are excellent in their utilization of a more dramatic feel. They seem like they're ready for the spotlight and ready to go on to become something great.
The only thing rivaling the grand musicianship is Owen Brinley's eclectic vocals. Not only does his voice fit the music perfectly, his delivery mirrors the mood of the music perfectly. The scattered vocals by the other band members are just as welcomed, and Emilia Ergin's female vocals are a perfect companion for Brinley's crooning in "Relentless Fours."
This is an almost flawless album, I'll give it that. Each of the tracks are perfectly sculpted, and there's not a track out of place. The whole thing flows seamlessly, each track paving the way for the next, and it doesn't seem once like there's a track that doesn't belong. In the course of the album, however, there are the standouts. These include the aforementioned "Relentless Fours" as well as "The Vague Archives" and my personal favorite "Broken Wing." "Relentless Fours" is just brilliant in it's mood shifts. It incorporates everything from the excellent duet between Brinley and Ergin to some of Brinley's yelling and a perfect build-up of heavier instrumentation. "The Vague Archives" is probably the catchiest song from the album, and "Broken Wings" is quite possibly one of the few tracks I would call perfect. Starting out with Brinley singing softly across an acoustic guitar, it utilizes a stunningly powerful escalation and breakdown before falling back into Brinley singing across light instrumentation.
I may not say that Grammatics' self-titled album is completely perfect, but it is as flawless an album as I've ever discovered firsthand (you know, in the time that I've been musically aware). I'm afraid to give this album a perfect score, but if you've yet to hear it, you need to judge for yourself. Grammatics is the most powerful album I expect to hear this year, and if you've got a head for it, it's likely to take hold and not let go. If Grammatics doesn't make a name for themselves with this unbelievable debut album, then good music is in more trouble than I originally thought.
eclectic rock; string arrangements; an even better and moodier version of Forgive Durden
http://www.myspace.com/grammatics
Release Date: March, 2009
Record Label: Dance to the Radio
I feel rather dwarfed by the first review for this album which praised it as an album on the level of Radiohead's OK Computer and Kid A. In other words, an album deserving of a perfect score. Upon my first listen of Grammatics, I thought it was just a fan raving about his new favorite band. However, I was recently wandering along the halls of my school when I realized that he's closer to the truth than I originally believed. You see, that was the first time that I actually had a chance to listen to Grammatics on anything other than either my laptop's terrible compressed speaker or my current junker car that's lacking quite a bit in the audio department. It took me listening to it through headphones to hear all of the delicate intricacies that makes this such a riveting album.
Grammatics is one of the few albums released in the last couple of years that I can actually deem "unique." Their style of unhindered pop, rock, or whatever you want to refer to it as, is so full of a sense of grandeur that it takes on a sound all of it's own. The incorporation of strings into many of their arrangements give the tracks a different feel than if they'd stuck to the standard guitar, bass, and drum approach. The word dramatic seems like it has a negative connotation, but these tracks are excellent in their utilization of a more dramatic feel. They seem like they're ready for the spotlight and ready to go on to become something great.
The only thing rivaling the grand musicianship is Owen Brinley's eclectic vocals. Not only does his voice fit the music perfectly, his delivery mirrors the mood of the music perfectly. The scattered vocals by the other band members are just as welcomed, and Emilia Ergin's female vocals are a perfect companion for Brinley's crooning in "Relentless Fours."
This is an almost flawless album, I'll give it that. Each of the tracks are perfectly sculpted, and there's not a track out of place. The whole thing flows seamlessly, each track paving the way for the next, and it doesn't seem once like there's a track that doesn't belong. In the course of the album, however, there are the standouts. These include the aforementioned "Relentless Fours" as well as "The Vague Archives" and my personal favorite "Broken Wing." "Relentless Fours" is just brilliant in it's mood shifts. It incorporates everything from the excellent duet between Brinley and Ergin to some of Brinley's yelling and a perfect build-up of heavier instrumentation. "The Vague Archives" is probably the catchiest song from the album, and "Broken Wings" is quite possibly one of the few tracks I would call perfect. Starting out with Brinley singing softly across an acoustic guitar, it utilizes a stunningly powerful escalation and breakdown before falling back into Brinley singing across light instrumentation.
I may not say that Grammatics' self-titled album is completely perfect, but it is as flawless an album as I've ever discovered firsthand (you know, in the time that I've been musically aware). I'm afraid to give this album a perfect score, but if you've yet to hear it, you need to judge for yourself. Grammatics is the most powerful album I expect to hear this year, and if you've got a head for it, it's likely to take hold and not let go. If Grammatics doesn't make a name for themselves with this unbelievable debut album, then good music is in more trouble than I originally thought.
eclectic rock; string arrangements; an even better and moodier version of Forgive Durden
http://www.myspace.com/grammatics