Wednesday 17 June 2015

Album Review -Alexandrine by GRICE

After the success of first album Propeller  you might have expected GRICE to stick to the same recipe that has already served him so well for the second .
It's testament to his talent and ambition then that new album 
Alexandrine should turn its back on the last chapter and write a brand new one . With big hitting musical friends for company .
The importance of being earnest  shines with richly textured moods .its songs interspersed with short sonic embellishments ,whirls of bleeps ,barks and door slams one minute then surging acoustic folk or classical undertones the next .The more you listen to this record the more it confounds you  with its ebb and flow . The solitary stance contradicts the idea that this musical style is all about the collective euphoria narrative .
GRICE now exists in another musical sphere completely, a place where he can absorb every artistic element to create a transcendent  album in every passed and present way . 
"Eclipse " a personal favourite with a captivating 
hook ,Middle Eastern  shimmering grooves and mysterious emotional underpinnings ." Leftside ",Threadbare soulful sound with a pleasing scutter vocal showing the maturity of distance , observed with a steady gaze rather than the throes of adolescent turmoil .

Alexandrine is an album going  for mood ,place and texture rather than commercial oomph.There's a subtle strength being in a room where the subject doesn't quite know how to be there. It's a slightly uncomfortable listen in parts but that's the master stroke in this anxious overload of a ride conceding to that elusive repeat listening experience .

Stand out tracks - Eclipse .leftside ,incomplete ,She's in my Garden .



Out 22 June on Burning Shed 
See social media for details . 






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