Grails - Biography
The word “grail” can only come with heavy connotations of mystery, power and portent; it’s a word loaded with nuance and charged with destiny. Alex Hall didn’t think his project had much of a destiny when he started it in Portland, Oregon in 1999 -- for him, it was just a goof. But the music had other plans. The band was initially called Laurel Canyon, and the line-up was Hall, guitarist Paul Spitz, drummer Emil Amos (of Holy Sons), violinist Timothy Horner and bass/piano player William Slater (Horner soon left the band and Spitz was eventually replaced by Zak Riles). Not wanting to add to the pool of innumerous “rock bands,” they intended to confine their highly accomplished compositions to their own bedroom studio. But destiny took over. They did one live performance (on a goof), and the wheels of fortune started to roll. Apparently there was an enthusiastic audience for this mysterious, powerful and portentous music. The band changed their name to Grails, put out two EPs, caught the attention of US experimental rock label, Neurot Recordings and released their first two full-length LPs, The Burden of Hope (2003 Neurot Recordings) and Redlight (2004 Neurot Recordings). This almost accidental cohesion of events was the start of a musical collaboration that would span beyond the decade and continue to produce some of the most inventive and evocative instrumental rock of its time.
The first record sets the tone and foreshadows what’s to come: a familiar but unquantifiable element, both easy on the ear and intriguing to the cerebral senses. “Burden of Hope” kicks off with a heady, swirling motif, moving into the gloriously melodic “Lord I Have Your Day.” As the album proceeds, intricate sound collages continue to emote, evoke and provoke. Warm electric guitar riffs weave in and out of phlangy, fluid grooves, as disparate themes emerge and disperse. There are traces of prog rock, jazz and heavy psychedelia, laced with Celtic keenings and Eastern melodies. The 2nd full-length album, Redlight, begins with the elegiac “Dargai” followed by the prog-fusion dirge of “The Volunteer.” The addition of saxophone and pedal steel enhance the complexity of the songs here, without crowding, as sonic characters enter and exit in and out dreamy vignettes. These compositions are expansive, free and moderately “out there,” but executed with intelligence and a wonderfully subtle restraint.
The next LP, Interpretations of Three Psychedelic Rock Songs From Around the World (2005 Latitude), was recorded in Southern Studios in London for the Latitudes Series, a project conceived to honor both the longevity of the studio and the lifetime work of the late John Peel. The record features three cover versions by Gong, Flower Traveling Band and The Byrds. What followed for Grails started as a series of 12” releases called The Black Tar Prophecies. In 2006 the first three discs were released as a collection, Black Tar Prophecies Volume I, II and III (2006 Important Records). On these recordings the band seem to have found their true groove. More experimental than ever, this is seriously engaging, literate, head-banging stuff. Heavy fuzz bass, tabla-inspired drums, folky flourishes, garbled frequencies and woozy effects effortlessly collide. The closing track, “Black Tar Prophecy,” features an exquisitely haunting banjo over an ominous drone that erupts into a tribal groove, which in turn dissipates into free-jazz sax and classical guitar. As incongruous as it all sounds, it works like a dream, as the band explores disparate melodic themes and contextualizes sounds in the most inventive ways.
The band more than maintains the peak they’ve achieved with Burning Off Impurities (2007 Temporary Residence). Just as replete in complex textures and aural delights, this stunning album spins out on super-slow grooves, dubbed-out bass, Eastern modes and mournful drones. The title track is a signature piece, with its emphatic rhythms and luxurious swells, all the way to its whirling dervish finale. Take Refuge in Clean Living (2008 Important Records) carries on in a similar vein, and is no less impressive, with densely layered psych grooves, thumping, hyper-rhythmic structures and ethnic folk embellishments. Grails are sometimes classified as stoner rock, and Doomsdayer’s Holiday (2008 Temporary Residence) has enough throbbing, repetition and heavy distorted guitar to warrant the title, but it’s more complex than that, as a track like “Acid Rain” emphasizes, in all its luscious, whispery, syrupy glory. Let’s hope that the sprawling extravaganza of Black Tar Prophecies Volume IV (2010 Important Records) sees the series continuing into Volume V, because there is enough sonic luxury and adventure here to bode well for the future. As for the present, these multi-dimensional compositions leave the listener floating in some kind of timeless ineffability — a space worthy of the word “grail.”
