Dance To The Radio, released 23/03/2009.

Christmas Day offers an annual tandem of excitement and possible anticlimax.  My excitement in anticipation of Grammatics’ debut album has brought about a similar scenario.  Ever since coming across their superb single “Shadow Committee” (a multi-parted epic of drama and power and the first track on here) I’ve been anxious to get my mits on their long player, but with the inevitable worry that I’ll be disappointed.

I’m very happy to report that I’m not, in any real way, disappointed.  The dramatic and mannered foursome, featuring full-time cello player Emilia Ergin and the kind of tunes that almost defy wonderfully passionate lead singer Owen Brinley to sing them the same way twice, have done good.  Very good.  You may hear the phrase, “they’re so different” a lot, but here its use is more genuine truth than PR spin.  An ambitious and patient opening of long and echoey guitar notes give way to their trusty calling card, and while it does sound a bit like they’ve tried a little too hard to nail the perfect take, it’s still breathtakingly good, one of the most interesting pieces of rock music I’ve heard since the first Mars Volta album.  It’s the same combination of focus and guts that the crazy-haired twosome did so well.

Their ability to build from spiky, angular lines to serious and gripping riffs is a key ingredient (“D.I.L.E.M.M.A.”, “Relentless Fours”), as is the cello-as-lead-instrument drama, while “Broken Wing” has both delicate strumming and thunderous, detuned power chords aplenty, a grand tragic drama in musical form.  But primarily it’s all about the atmosphere and the moods, with the passion and ideas clearly leading to the sound.  They haven’t shirked the opportunity to embellish that sound with some studio touches, as the layered production demonstrates, and they’ve given us plenty to digest at just over an hour, but these grand gestures are largely to their credit.

Grammatics, again like The Mars Volta, do not sound like they’re playing games at being rock stars or trying to ape a style to make careers.  They sound like excellent, thoughtful and ambitious musicians making whatever music feels right for them, which is of course the best type of music of all.  Especially when it involves a cello.

Posted In Album Reviews, Mar 23 2009. Words - Martin