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The Badger Herald

Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

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Latest not quite holy grail of band’s work

An image of blood-spattered sand in a middle-eastern war zone haunts the listener.

Deep Politics, released March 8 by Portland, Ore., based Grails, is tragic, paranoid, courageous and empowering – yet arduous. If a band was locked in a studio with “The Hurt Locker” or “Jarhead” repeating on a large projection canvas, it would sound like a lot of this album.

Spontaneity pervades in the album’s best tracks, as they seem as likely to burst into audacious power riffs as they are to ease into melancholic acoustic fingering. Like a movie’s twists, the changes in the atmosphere and tone are refreshing and keep the listener interested early on, though floundering as the album comes to a close.

The lack of vocals, which will make this record a great soundtrack to a future film, is compensated by the variety of moods that are carefully presented. The patient and imaginative listener’s emotions stay engaged throughout, while all other listeners get bored and put on something with some singing.

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“Future Primitive” first paints an ominous and threatening landscape in the distance until, upon arrival aboard a brooding distorted baseline, the listener is greeted with Arabic strings and violins and then thrown into the pit when the progression leads to heavy drums and guitar. The riffs that follow hint at the valiance one would hope to see in all new arrivals to Afghanistan.

“All the Colors of the Dark” is next, and the suspenseful piano accompanied with paranoid strings and off-beat drums fall into an archetypal cowboy theme of courage and machismo that hints at a na?ve but inspiring confidence. The guitar theme that arises at the climax of this piece could be called “The Honorable American Soldier’s Bravery,” but it eventually dies back into a landscape of fear and chaos as reality sets in.

“Corridors of Power” is slow and uneventful. The listener awaits some sort of spring to life but none arrives. One can’t escape the war metaphor again, as this track hints at the long anticipatory spells that represents much of actual combat. The portion has barely any sound (action) at all, a reoccurring trend that comes up in the album’s final tracks.

“Deep Politics” lures you in with romantic keys and electric ambiance. Upon a climax of instrumentation, the sadness is unveiled as the mournful strings arouse a hopelessness and the deep vengeful bass line accompanied with distorted guitars and aggressive percussion lead back into a confirmation akin to a post-revenge epiphany.

The final three tracks are noticeably longer but seem to draw out the emotional transitions the listener was experiencing with earlier triumphs. Longer and more methodical instrumentations lead to climaxes that don’t award the listener’s patience, as the melodies aren’t as memorable. If listeners multi-task while listening to this album’s final tracks, they may find that they weren’t really paying attention any more.

A worthwhile effort from Grails, Deep Politics is strongest about midway and has trouble keeping it going through the later tracks. Although the peaks are satisfying enough to legitimize the price of admission, this satisfactory album could have been better.

2.5 Stars

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