GRIP ~ SOLSTICI ..... review

 

Spanish groovesters Grip are not what you would call the most prolific of outfits, the band, Ana Ruiz (vocals); Quim Torres (guitars); Ángel Fuentes (guitars); Albert Vilella (bass) and Sergi Querol (drums) formed in Reus, Spain in 2016 it then took them a further two years to get around to releasing their debut, "Sessions from Beyond", and it is only now, five years later, that we are getting to hear "Solstici" the follow up to that release. However good things are worth waiting for and this intriguing blend of post-metal, occult rock and stoner doom, decorated in strong distinctive vocals, has been well worth waiting for. 

First song out of the traps is "Roots", it's lone opening guitar motif  reminiscent of the late John McGeoch's work with  British post-punk/goth outfit Siouxsie and the Banshees, this motif is then replaced by dank guitar refrains backed up by pummelling drums and rumbling bass over which vocalist Ruiz delivers powerful, lightly accented, vocals in a voice that sits between fey and forceful and is tinted with just a splash of monotonic edginess, the singer delivering her vocals for this track in a 50-50 mix of English and Catalan "Pirene" follows and finds Ruiz singing of being "trapped between two large seas" and being "hidden in fields of burning trees" over a musical backdrop that sits just a bpm or two above low slow and heavy and has, in its more animated sections, an almost Sabbathian/Sleep-ish flavour. "Aloja" sees Torres and Fuentes bringing a touch of post-metal texturing to their guitar work ably supported by Vilella and Querol, who on the evidence so far have proved themselves a formidable rhythm section, For this song Ruiz opts for a more torch-like and soaring vocal delivery, a delivery totally suited to the songs more textured dynamic. There is an element of stoner metal chug to be found on next song "Tretze Vents"(translation: thirteen winds) but only in its initial stages for as the song progresses so its dynamic slowly shifts from being upbeat and metallic to sedate, doomic and in places bluesy. Penultimate track "Black Hounds" sits somewhere between occult rock and proto-doom and along its journey features some very tasty off-kilter guitar work from both Torres and Fuentes as well as another great Ruiz vocal. Last song "Solstici" boasts off kilter guitar motifs around which doomic chord progressions hold sway and rhythmic thunder is unleashed, Ruiz opts to jettison the monotonic elements she has employed on previous songs here and instead adopts a more ethereal and fey vocal approach, an approach that pays huge dividends by adding an air of otherworldly mysticism to the songs mid-seasonal lyrical theme.

Grip describe the songs that inhabit "Solstici" as "reflections of the darkest feelings of the human being in relation to its natural environment, now in decline", and it is true as there is a huge "green" agenda attached to most of the albums songs. Don't, however, think Grip are going to haul you over the coals or preach at you about the size of your carbon footprint, the songs here are more about documenting the decline of our planet, the album does lyrically apportion blame but not at any one individual but at us as a human race and let's face it who can really argue with that.

Check it out ......

© 2023 Frazer Jones