Grim Tower - Anarchic Breezes

by Andrew Carver

published: 29 / 7 / 2013

Label: Outer Battery Records
Format: CD

Engaging psychedelic folk on debut album from Grim Tower, the project of Black Mountain front man and Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Imaad Wasif

Review

Black Mountain man Stephen McBean and Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Imaad Wasif are natural collaborators. It’s easy to imagine the songs from Wasif’s 2009 solo album ‘The Voidist’ (on stoner friendly label Tee Pee) popping up on some of McBean’s solo Pink Mountaintops works, and vice versa. Their work together as ‘Grim Tower’ isn’t making either man stretch into new places, but the results should please the ears of both their fans. The duo has cited David Tibet’s Current 93 as an influence on their recordings as Grim Tower, and the insistent guitar buzz, video game noises, acoustic strumming and Middle Eastern harmonies of ‘Soft Seance’, the first track on ‘Anarchic Breezes’ definitely seems to reflect it. McBean’s familiar drawl gives a warm feeling to the track. When Wasif’s higher voice takes over on ‘Reign Down’, it adds an insistent urge to the banjo-picking skittering over a layer of fuzz. With McBean’s voice out front again, the acoustic folk and brief flute garnishment of ‘Orpheus Light’ takes a page directly from his solo work. The delicate beauty of ‘Mantis’ makes excellent use of both men's voices, and sounds a bit like a Damon & Naomi tune. The keening ‘All the Beautiful Things’ is another languorous folk tune with fuzzy guitar breaks and tremelo breeding a psychedelic atmosphere for the song’s stoner-friendly lyrics. The instrumental title track makes for a slight break, coming on like something on the 'Tron' soundtrack with its fuzzy fluctuating synthetic tones (closer to Wasif’s early solo work) before shoving them behind some fingerpicked acoustic guitar; like the opener it reflects the inspiration of Current 93. ‘Let Death Become Your Comfort’ picks up the pace from the album’s general laidback tempo, McBean’s yearning voice well in the forefront over more muscular fingerpicking, piano and marching band percussion. ‘Blue’ slows things down again with some strings joining hand drums as Wasif takes the role of a forlorn lover in a dream city. There’s more fuzzy tremelo guitar as McBean pledges to split from the past in ‘Leaving My Old Life Behind’, accompanied by jangling bells. ‘Hang Me In Heaven’ wraps things up on a melancholy note. ‘Anarchic Breezes’ makes for a pleasing listen, but songs like ‘Let Death Become Your Comfort’ make one hope for a more up-tempo effort from the pair on their next outing.

Track Listing:-

1 Soft Seance
2 Reign Down
3 Orpheus Light
4 Mantis
5 All the Beautiful Things
6 Anarchic Breezes
7 Let Death Become Your Comfort
8 Blue
9 Leaving My Old Life Behind
10 Hang Me in Heaven