Grævling

Grævling EP

Written by: BV on 23/06/2014 19:55:21

There’s been a massive surge of Danish psychedelic bands emerging these past few years; that much has been established. Grævling is one of those outfits that have actually been around for a while – if luck was with you, you might have seen them perform at a variety of different venues but this EP is the first finished recording from their hand, making them seem entirely new to some. Naturally, this makes the expectations towards such a release that much higher, seeing as the EP is being released in the midst of a veritable flood of excellent Danish albums.

Opening with “Blishøne”, it is quite evident that Grævling are intent on going all-out with the nature themes in terms of lyrical content. The sometimes childlike naivety of the lyrics has a definite charm to them but the soundscape seems to be lacking some sort of punch in the compositions. Yes, some of it is pretty out there but in general I feel there’s a bit too much predictability in the proceedings for it to be coined fully psychedelic in terms of sound. One of the tracks I have often find myself enjoying in the live setting is the instrumental “Magisk Svamp” – a track that continues this naïve fascination of nature by possibly being named after psilocybin mushrooms. Grandiose in terms of sound, “Magisk Svamp” manages to build upon the initial predictability of Grævling’s repertoire and make the closest thing I’ve come to an instrumental ‘hit’ in quite some time. The semi-aggressive lead-guitar that playfully lingers on top of the somehow charmingly sloppy rhythm section is strangely appealing and stands out as Grævling’s finest moment on this EP.

However, in a way, the EP lacks the playfulness that characterizes a Grævling live show. It can’t be attributed to the production as it is quite impeccable (and quite possibly the most polished psych production I have ever heard) – rather it seems to be a matter of not managing to add the same nerve to the tracks as they have done on several occasions in the live setting. Sadly, this makes the otherwise epic “Regnen Kommer” fall somewhat short, in spite of its whopping 8 minutes in duration, it’s disturbingly cool vocals and the hauntingly simple guitar riff. “Regnen Kommer” is easily the most psychedelic track on the EP and does its fair share in making the listening experience psychedelic. Sadly, it’s just not enough on its own. This means that the first EP from Grævling is a sort of hit and miss affair to me and to be honest I believe they can do better; hopefully they will sometime soon.

Download: Magisk Svamp, Regnen Kommer
For the fans of: Fribytterdrømme, Ekkofabrikken, Halasan Bazar
Listen: Facebook

Release date 18.05.2014
Eddermame Records


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