Skip to main content

The Grant Farm: Self Titled


Words By J-man

The self-titled debut album from Grant Farm could come at no better time. With the Cherry Blossoms in full bloom, spring overtakes Colorado with warmer days and longer nights. While many younger folks turn towards electronic music and DJ's, Grant Farm reminds us what it is to create music utilizing instrumentation and well-honed skills. "I Come From The Country," seems a perfect fit to open the album, eluding to the roots of Grant Farm. The track features Keith Moseley (String Cheese Incident) on bass and Andy Thorn (Emmitt-Nershi Band) on electric banjo. The band's characteristic "Cris-co" (country/disco) sound is enough to move even the novice string music fan. The next track, "The Times Have Changed," eludes to life lessons over a bright composition, before Tyler Grant dismantles the guitar. "Engineer" starts with the tempo and feel of a train song and unfolds with some great fills and vocal harmonies.

"Tell Me, Tell Me" really gives off the country flavor that Grant Farm has built it's sound on. Moseley returns for "Green Thumb," which begins with a more blues-oriented Hendrix riff that opens up to a poppy groove. Tyler's raw vocals fit perfectly with the lyrics, music and vibe of the album, reflecting a wide range of genre-crossing material. "Funky Boulder" prompts a rockabilly structure once again, but with the flowing feel reminiscent of The Allman Brothers lead guitar work. "High Country Ladies" eases in with an airy accordion intro from Sean Foley. Chris Misner comes in on the drums with a reggae groove, once again bending genres on this unique track.

The bluegrass classic, "The Nine Pound Hammer" is morphed into a rock song and features Bill Nershi (String Cheese Incident) on guitar and Andy Thorn on the electric banjo once again. The track takes off and gets really tasty towards the end. "Nothin' Gonna Stop This Train," features solid bass-work from Adrian Engfer and soulful organ work. The album's sound changes yet again with "Headed For The Falls." This somber track seems to vary so much from the rest of the material, that it almost doesn't fit. "The Way It Ought To Be" closes out the album with bold instrumentation and phrasing. Tyler opens up one last time to make sure that the listener is aware of how much of an absolute baddass he is on the guitar.

All in all, Grant Farm is one of the most well-rounded and diverse albums that I have heard come out of the Colorado string scene in some time. It's layered with instrumental goodness and advanced technical work. Grant Farm is not your typical country music album or band. With guests like The String Cheese Incident's Bill Nershi and Keith Moseley, as well as Andy Thorn's improvisational approach, there was no doubt that the album would be interesting. Coupled with the lyrical stylings of both Tyler and Benny Galloway, Grant Farm is a clear home run.

www.grantfarm.net

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Livetronica Sampler 3.22.11

Words by Greg Molitor ( ReMIND Photography ) Ozric Tentacles This British group has proven innovative throughout the years offering a space-rock meets psytrance sound that remains alive to this day. Though never having a major record label, Ozric Tentacles has produced 28 albums of diverse psychedelia throughout its career. The band met at the Stonehenge Free Festival in 1983 and truly fathered livetronica music with its use of sequencers and synthesizers. Simply put, there would be no livetronica without Ozric Tentacles. www.ozrics.com Octopus Nebula Colorado’s Octopus Nebula has certainly hit its stride as of late with its constant touring and increased festival interest. The group expands on the deep sounds of highly regarded acts such as STS9 and Shpongle but also carves a path of its own with its fresh takes on synthesizer tones and sampling in the live setting. Octopus Nebula Live at Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom on March 26, 2010. <--- Direct Archive Link www.octopus
Post a Comment
Read more

Buckethead: Gimmick or Guitar God?

Words & Photos By Nicholas Stock ( phatphlogblog.blogspot.com ) At what point does the gimmick overshadow the performance? The obvious answer is Buckethead. The man is an amazing guitarist but something is not right in this world. The idea a performer who dons a KFC chicken bucket on his head for a concert has always intrigued me, and some of his side projects such as Colonel Claypool’s Bernie Bucket of Brains have been huge successes. However his performance last weekend in Fort Collins simply left me perplexed. From his robotic dancing, to his nunchuck display, to the fact the he performed with an iPod rather than a band all added to my confusion. Going into the show I was ready to be blown away, despite rumblings of disgruntled fans from the previous night’s show at The Gothic. Buckethead had had some sound issues and some missed cues in Denver but I was still trying to be positive for the show in Fort Collins. It did go off without a hitch technically but that was the least
17 comments
Read more

The Origin of MusicMarauders

Words By J-man "What should I name this fucking thing?" I asked myself in the midst of a joint in my Upstate, NY apartment. "It's got to be something with just 'Music'in the title. Nothing more specific than that, as we'll be covering a wide variety of genres." One more drag on the joint yielded the memory of driving down Woodward Ave. in Detroit, listening to Tribe Called Quest's Midnight Marauders. "MusicMarauders! That's it... It completely encompasses what we do in the sense the we are 'maraudering' or 'pillaging' for music," I thought as I stared out of the window at about three and a half feet of fresh Upstate snow. First things first, the domain had to be registered. "Do I have ten dollars in my account?" I thought to myself from a position of just scraping by. Pulling out my shiny, rarely used debit card, I put it to the test and was able to secure MusicMarauders.com. "What's next?" I
1 comment
Read more