Grails By Nyree Watts
The band will tour Europe throughout September
On 29th September, Neurot are reissuing the debut album from multidimensional sonic explorers Grails, The Burden of Hope, twenty years after its original release. There will be two LP variants of this reissue, Coke Bottle clear for the US and Beer for the UK/EU. The Neurot store is selling both variants.
About the reissue, Neurot Recordings’ Steve Von Till says;
When I first put on the demo tape that Grails (then called Laurel Canyon) sent to Neurot Recordings it stopped me in my tracks and changed the course of the day. It was not only exactly what I wanted to hear that day, but what I needed to hear. The pastoral melodic guitars and violin textures played often with painful restraint took me where I wanted to go. Most instrumental music at the time was trying to emulate Godspeed You! Black Emperor or Mogwai, but this was different. This seemed to have elements from more diverse sources that I loved such as Dirty Three, Comus, Richard Thompson, and Neil Young, not to mention, who in hell would dare to cover Sun City Girls? This clearly aligned them more with outsider record collectors than any sort of trend following groups. This would become even more apparent as they evolved and morphed into the experimental psychedelic freaks they are today. It is one of my favourite albums from the Neurot catalog.
Alex from Grails comments;
In 2003 we sent a package to the Neurot Recordings mailing address with a demo CDR that contained much of what would become The Burden Of Hope album. When Steve Von Till called us out of the blue and offered to release the record, it cleared the weeds to reveal a path that we’ve been traversing ever since and which would come to define the rest of our lives. It means an enormous amount to us to be able to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the record with Neurot.
The Burden of Hope (reissue) can be pre-ordered here.
THE BURDEN OF HOPE TRACK LISTING:
1 – BURDEN OF HOPE
2 – LORD I HATE YOUR DAY
3 – THE DEED
4 – IN THE BEGINNING
5 – INVOCATION
6 – SPACE PROPHET DOGON
7 – THE MARCH
8 – BROKEN BALLAD
9 – WHITE FLAG
10 – CANYON HYMN
Read on for further info, adapted from the original bio…
Intuitively communicated and entirely instrumental, Grails’ violin, guitars, piano, and drums collide with sober melodies and massive emotion.
Grails have their fair share of ambient noise – shivery violins, a trickle of a high-hat, the amplified scrape of a guitar string – but their music is based on strong, narrative melodies that resonate in the heart. At times it sounds delicate, but they never cower; Grails ROAR, even when they’re being quiet.
Originally formed under the moniker Laurel Canyon, the name of the group was changed to Grails to coincide with the original release of The Burden of Hope in October, 2003.
The players on this record:
Emil Amos ~ drums
Timothy Horner ~ violin
Alex Hall ~ guitar
William Slater ~ piano, bass
Zak Riles ~ guitar
Grails European tour dates:
Oct 4 Stadwerkstatt, Linz, AT
Oct 5 A38, Budapest, HU
Oct 6 Pink Whale, Bratislava, SK
Oct 7 Kabinet Muz, Brno, CZ
Oct 8 Meet Factory, Prague, CZ
Oct 9 Arena, Vienna, AT
Oct 11 Roadrunners Rock & Motor Club, Berlin, DE
Oct 12 BHF Langendreer, Bochum, DE
Oct 13 Botanique, Brussels, BE
Oct 14 Vera, Groningen, NL
Oct 15 Hafenklang, Hamburg, DE
Oct 16 Vega / Ideal Bar, Copenhagen, DK
Oct 18 Kuudes Linja, Helsinki, FI
Oct 19 Paavli Kultuurivabrik, Tallinn EE
Oct 20 Zemlika Festival, Durbe LV
Oct 21 Sodas2123 Vilnius, LT
Oct 22 VooDoo Warsaw PL
The band recently announced their new album and first new release in six years, Anches En Maat via Temporary Residence which can be pre-ordered here. The current line up is; Alex Hall, Emil Amos, Jesse Bates, Ilyas Ahmed and AE Paterra.