Sebastien Grainger and the Mountains: Sebastien Grainger and the Mountains
Sebastien Grainger and the Mountains: Sebastien Grainger and the Mountains
Also In The News
|
Arsenal booked their place in the semi-finals of the FA Cup as they came from behind to beat Hull City 2-1 at the Emirates. |  |
Wednesday, 18, Mar 2009 02:20
Saddle Creek, out now.
In a nutshell...
Smooth, synthy, feelgood, radio-friendly
What's it all about?
Very few bands with a singing drummer are likely to stand the test of time no matter how good their music is. It's like going to the circus since they took away the performing animals; entertaining but not much to look at. So it is with a sigh of relief that Sebastien Grainger returns to us as the leader of his solo project and not as the drummer. This is his first solo album and is a world away from the fuzzed up thrash pop of his former band but is an encouraging effort that shows his song writing has both matured and developed in the intervening years.
Who's it by?
When the trashy Canadian pop due Death From Above 1979 eventually imploded after a short stint as scene favourites, drummer and lead vocalist Sebastien Grainger decided to go it alone and formed his own band. The line up is completed by Nick Sewell, Leon Taheny and Andrew Scott.
As an example...
"I was knocked down, she was knocked up/We were down town, we got f****d up." - Cover of Night (Fire Fight)
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
With a residency on the Saddle Creek record label any notion of attending the Grammys may well be frowned upon for Sebastien and friends such is the understated nature of the label. However, some big names have emerged from these muddy waters and with Grainger's excellent ear for pop melodies and a good beat a pitch at The Big Time might well be in the pipe line.
What the others say
"Grainger isn't a neo-folkie (though signing to Saddle Creek might further the misconception). He's simply fleshed out his own song sketches with power-pop and, occasionally, 1970s arena rock to create a batch of high-energy, radio-friendly tunes." - Joe Colly, Pitchfork
"Grainger's solo efforts are more restrained than DFA 1979's sweaty frenzy, and ultimately, his blues-frilled rock would be pretty pallid if not for the playfully sarcastic undercurrents, though I Hate My Friends is the boisterous stadium rocker that Superchunk never wrote." - Stacey Anderson, SPIN
So is it any good?
Where Death From Above were fast, angular and distinctly unrefined Seb and his mountainous cohorts have produced a much less frenetic and decidedly less obscure offering while still maintaining a few key elements that were crucial to the success of DFA.
Grainger's sleezy, yelping vocals are always a pleasing sound and he lets them loose with great effect on Cover of Night (Fire Fight) which is a mid-tempo pop-rock gem that sounds like the perfect soundtrack to a American Apparel photoshoot.
I Hate My Friends has the potential to be unbearably cringeworthy going by title alone but it sounds like a fine mix of Thin Lizzy and We Are Scientists with a smooth and synthy chorus that will make for good drunken sing-alongs in Shoreditch for sure.
Renegade Silence is a fine piece of dirty disco that will please fans of Late of The Pier and Klaxons.
This is pretty simple feelgood stuff that would be good for a road trip with mates or a chilled out house party that doesn't result in you having to pressure wash your walls.
6/10
Ross McTaggart