Grammatics have been lurking around for some time now, leaving a trail of excited chatter and avid expectation in their wake. Impressive support slots, a clutch of single/EP releases and numerous festival appearances are strapped archly under their collective belt, and yet the forces that be have worked against the Leeds quartet meaning that only now have they made it to the studio to record that pesky first long player.
In an attempt to quell the thirsts of their growing legions of supporters, their latest offering is a single free to download from their web site. Almost as if pop is inspecting its distorted reflection in the water, ‘The New Franchise‘ is 4 minutes and 30 seconds of stretched, shattered and twisted melodrama. Emilia’s knuckle-duster cello carves up fluid guitar lines and enchanting melodies; this single takes your archetypal indie wiff-waff by the scruff of the neck and pummels it into something wholly more unique without losing the instantly engaging and sugar-frosted nature that makes pop so addictive in the first place. From power ballad to electro stonking beefcake belter in the batter of an eyelid, Grammatics are checking the boxes without falling prey to the clichés.
The soaring power of Owen Brinley’s vocals, flitting effortlessly across all octaves, is one of those inimitable sounds seemingly designed specifically to polarize opinions and demand that people care, whatever their surmise. At a time when more and more radio fodder seems to mar into one inoffensive blur, here are a band willing to take chances, to have opinions and to wield their creative vision with true conviction.
So keep your ear to the ground… should these four post-indie starlets in-the-making play their game of chess correctly and maintain the sparkle that has propelled them thus far, 2009 could most certainly and rightfully be theirs.
Kate Price