GRUMSLING ROCKS ‘A CHURCH, ON A BOAT, IN THE SEA’
Published in AXS.com, July 2015
On the recently released, A Church, On a Boat, In the Sea, the Oakland quartet known as Grumsling followed the form of their self-styled genre, “Story Rock.”
Taking lyrical journeys across sonic continents, the album winds abstract, grave and romantic narratives over soundscapes that range from arena-packing classic rock and toe-tapping dusty lounge to string-wailing desert jam and fret-notching orchestral precision. As such, it is “a creative project” that involves “a character, a story, a feeling, imagery…and music” which, according to the band’s website, puts it in the category of “Story Rock.”
The description may remind some of the prog-rock movement of the early ’70s, but Grumsling should not be casually lumped together with the unshorn lute-plucking English virtuosos who brought electrified Bach to the masses forty years ago. Their songs are long and they twist and turn through multiple parts, sure, but the similarities end there. Grumsling keeps both feet planted on the terra-firma of electric guitar, bass and drums, with a piano lining the pocket or creating drama overhead. There is no swooping Moog. There is no cathedral organ. Grumsling is a rock and roll band.
The opening flourish of the first track, “Tree,” dissolves into a three-chord waltz all dressed up in the classic stadium vibe of early Bad Company. The guitar, bass and piano repeat the the descending progression while laid back drums accentuate the beat and a crisp ride cymbal trickles down over the whole thing. A menace lurks in the groove, expanding with lyrics like “The wind hits the branches and the vines, oh they look like a storm.” The mood whispers a hint Metallica’s foreboding “Nothing Else Matters” and Sinead O’Connors powerful “Just Like You Said It Would Be.”
After two verses, the song rushes onto a stormy bridge built in the spirit of Led Zeppelin circa Physical Graffiti and a chorus declares “It’s time to rise up, brothers, and cut them down!” The cry comes again as the guitar and piano add a wavering climax that sounds almost Indian before the denouement shatters it all like a beautiful sunrise. It closes with a joyful, “Bend my raise into the grand, raise my head up to the sky.”
High concept, indeed. But still within earshot of the garage from where it came. For all anyone knows, Grumsling might even be playing the same instruments they brought to their first rehearsal. The important thing is, they really know how to play them. And you really need to hear A Church, On a Boat, In the Sea if you want the whole story.