Grails
Deep Politics

“Remember, remember the Fifth of November”

It might be the London Tower displayed on the disc (at least on the vinyl), the somber and resigned cover, or, more simply, the music itself, but the latest effort by the Grails (from Portland, Oregon) brings to mind Alan Moore's graphic masterpiece “V For Vendetta”. It's probably a very personal short-circuit of references, but the sensations that the music of “Deep Politics” conveys would lend themselves well to being a perfect soundtrack for reading the comic. Similar is the melancholic resignation that emerges when listening to the first track, “Future Primitive”, caught between Middle-Eastern hints and electric tension that never fully explodes. It's hard to say if I'm barking up the wrong tree, but the beauty of instrumental groups is precisely the interpretive leap that occurs when words are absent.

To stay on topic, the following “All The Colors Of The Dark“ (a cover of Bruno Nicolai's score for the 1972 film “Tutti i colori del buio”) even better lends itself to the connection with Moore's apocalyptic imagery.

The entire work flows on the thread of the alternation between emptiness and fullness, between the tragic and the melancholic, between surrender and rebellion. The coordinates are different compared to past works, especially relative to the small ethno-trance-blues masterpiece of 2007 “Burning Off Impurities”; as mystical and tribal that one was, as dark and almost chamber-like is “Deep Politics”. The added value lies precisely in not appearing pompous and maudlin, despite favoring compositions for strings and piano that are almost like classical music (emblematic in this sense is the title track, valid both for V For Vendetta and for a Merola film, I swear!). A final obligatory mention for the 8 minutes of “Almost Grew My Hair”, an almost bluesy tune, with the surgical drumming of the great Emil Amos, a break in the middle, and a final restart.

Eight total tracks, eight almost perfect hits. A rarity in these times.