Gray Young - Staysail

Gray Young (Raleigh, NC) is definitely not the kind of band that I would, on any normal day, find myself listening to. But, after the bear sent me the album to review-that changed a bit. They mostly come off to me as a sort of instrumental/almost-a-jam-band type band, with sparse use of vocals (which, when used, are executed quite well) and perfect use of instruments. The songs on their new album Staysail come off as extremely atmospheric and bold. They're well developed, textured, and so haunting that they're instantly realized as infectious. After one listen-through of the album, it's very difficult to not hit play again and experience it all a second, third, or probably even hundredth time. I don't know too many people who would listen to an album 100 times in a row, but I bet this would be an album that it'd happen to, if it were to occur.

There's something to be said for an album that manages to make the percussion sound urgent and driven while at the same time making the guitar sound like wind...or, rather, all types of weather. Actually, it seems to me like every song creates a different image in your head, in as far as scenery goes. This album amazes the shit out of me, seriously. I mean, I usually find myself listening to pop punk songs about getting drunk, hating or loving life, and being poor-so this is a drastic change. What I find weird about the listening experience is the fact that I don't think I've paid much attention to any of Gray Young's lyrics. I mean, I listen to the vocals with the intensity any reviewer should have, but I'm listening to the nuances of the vocals and the cleverly chosen melodies. In this case, it's so easy to get distracted from the actual words being sung. Especially when some sort of mandolin or banjo comes in during this close vocal inspection...

Point is, as someone who is in to sing-a-longs as much as I am, it's always weird when I get into something that I wouldn't find myself singing along to (others are probably greatly thankful when this is the case). And what this point means is you should definitely purchase Staysail by Gray Young and experience this all for yourself. I honestly can't see a reason in which you wouldn't enjoy it...unless maybe you're like super into 80s hardcore punk and nothing else. Or maybe you're a rude boy 'til death, and nothing else may grace your ears without violent recourse. Or maybe you should just listen to it anyway, because it's awesome and you want to be awesome too. Or something like that.

-Idle

Comment below, because it's fun!
Like us on facebook!