Download "Easy Listening" from Greys here!
In support of their new EP titled "Easy Listening," out today on Concession Records, Canada's pummeling angular punk trio Greys have launched a free download of their latest release exclusively at their Bandcamp page greys.bandcamp.com.
In addition, the band is preparing to kick off a series of spring and summer US tour dates this week, taking the band everywhere from Providence, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Seattle and more. Greys have also announced the release of their new EP in a limited cassette run format via Pint-Sized Records (also available today).
About Greys' "Easy Listening"
"...a dissonant, malformed anthem that finds the hooks between salvos of noise and mathrock riffage." - Decibel
"Those who grew up in the 90s with a penchant for noise rock will find themselves right at home with Greys, but they aren't just scream therapy for the older crowd." - Alternative Press
"The group isn’t afraid of throwing in powerful hooks, never shies away from an almighty stoner riff and will not be convinced that compromise is anywhere in the cards... this hits hard, fast and without apology, the way that Hüsker Dü‘s Land Speed Record did. Of course, this outfit has more in common with Damaged-era Black Flag and Fugazi than Bob Mould and the boys, but the intensity is undeniable. Smart and powerful, this collection of songs is like sprinkling angel dust on your oatmeal." - PopMatters
"...loud, raucous and full of attitude. The four-piece resurrect punk and hardcore vibes from the '90s, proudly wearing their Fugazi and Drive Like Jehu influences. But this is far from a tribute record - Greys find the space to imprint their sound overtop the obvious origins. Lead singer and guitarist Shehzaad Jiwani is a force able to command melodic interludes, as well as inject intensity via gritty screams. It's the perfect balance that displays the height of Greys, mixing the past with a math rock approach that meshes superbly." - Exclaim!
Indexing a bunch of influences when describing a band kind of misses the point. Nothing’s original. Not even the blogosphere-favorited who layer reverb-y tape loops while accompanying themselves on washboard and yowling into six echo mics in Icelandic. Fine. But isn’t the whole point to pretend like we’ve heard this before? So let’s get the referential, namedrop-y, “Recommended if you like...” stuff out of the way ASAP.
Toronto’s Greys play loud, feedback-fueled, angular riffs that sound a bit like if John Reis was fucking Duane Denison in an overly-lit, dead-end of America motel room, and then Dave Grohlbarrelled in wearing a lampshade on his head and sprayed beer on everyone and spilled bong water all over the burnt-out broadloom carpet and there was, like, a Fugazi poster on the wall, and then someone put on a Greys tape. It’s like if a band you liked sounded like another band you liked and then you liked it. That’s enough, right?
What Greys has that shitty bands don’t have is a sense of history, of being connected to the broad, unruly narrative of “rock and roll.” On their debut release, 2011’s Ultra Sorta EP, the quartet indulged their taste for sludgy, guitar-driven rock that you could maybe call “post-hardcore,” but only if you mean that it was so post-hardcore that it doubled back on itself and just became straight-ahead rock music again. Their latest EP, Easy Listening, was recorded at Toronto's prestigious Chemical Sound studio and it sees the band expanding, getting heavier, softer, faster, slower, melodic and atonal at the same time, without being all ostentatious and arty about it. The fact that they recorded the entirety of the new release live to tape is just another way of giving lesser bands the finger with one hand while grabbing their gigantic cajones with the other.
Even more impressive is that the band got together just over a year ago, in late 2010. In that time, they've toured across all of Canada and the United States, recorded two EPs, received coverage from Alternative Press, Exclaim!, PopMatters and several more, and have been asked to perform at festivals including North By Northeast, Halifax Pop Explosion, Pouzza Fest, and 2011's invite-only incarnation of The Fest in Gainesville, FL. Their odometer read something like 45 000 kilometers in just six months, but who's counting?
The four kids, only barely in their 20s for Christ's sake, have already gigged with Mike Watt, Young Widows, Marnie Stern, Tera Melos, Braids, NoMeansNo, Algernon Cadwallader, Living With Lions and By Surprise, all the while playing hometown gigs with their buddies in Burning Love, DD/MM/YYYY, Indian Handcrafts, Teenage Kicks, Spitfist, Rituals, The Junction, TV Freaks and plenty more, holding their own at each show.
That they’re a) good; and b) have earned it would be fine, but add to this a welcome sense of humor both on stage and off (see: song titles nodding at The Simpsons and Twin Peaks and all the other shit you like), and you’ve got a band that’s not only good but instantly likeable. And cool. And without really acting like they’re trying to be. And without really acting like they’re trying to not try to be.
So, Greys. Recommended if you like: Greys.
Watch the video for "Cascades" here!
Greys Live
5/22 Saint John, NB @ Pub Down Under
5/23 Providence, RI @ AS220
5/24 Long Island, NY @ TBA
5/25 Williamstown, NJ @ 1619 House
5/26 Lowell, MA @ Dirty Douglas
5/27 New York, NY @ Fat Baby
5/29 Philadelphia, PA @ Model Home
5/30 Pittsburgh, PA @ Intermission Lounge
6/11 Windsor, ON @ Phog Lounge
6/13 Grand Rapids, MI @ Mulligan’s
6/14 Chicago, IL @ Gnarnia
6/15 Milwaukee, WI @ Scheme City
6/17 Winnipeg, MB @ Frames Gallery
6/19 Saskatoon, SK @ Sweatlodge
6/20 Edmonton, AB @ Wunderbar
6/23 Kamloops, BC @ Little Big House
6/24 Abbotsford, BC @ Aftermath
6/26 Tacoma, WA @ New Frontier
6/28 Seattle, WA @ The Space
6/29 Bellingham, WA @ Shakedown
6/30 Nanaimo, BC @ Crace Mountain
7/01 Vancouver, BC @ Zoo Shop
7/04 Edmonton, AB @ Wunderbar
7/7 Madison, WI @ The Wisco
"Easy Listening" Track List:
1. Post-American
2. Cascades
3. The Way of All Flesh
4. Gladhander
5. Queen of the Harpies
6. Telegraph Hill
For more information, visit:
www.greysrock.com
Greys on Facebook
Greys on Twitter
Greys on BandCamp
Greys on Tumblr
www.concessionrecords.com
In support of their new EP titled "Easy Listening," out today on Concession Records, Canada's pummeling angular punk trio Greys have launched a free download of their latest release exclusively at their Bandcamp page greys.bandcamp.com.
In addition, the band is preparing to kick off a series of spring and summer US tour dates this week, taking the band everywhere from Providence, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Seattle and more. Greys have also announced the release of their new EP in a limited cassette run format via Pint-Sized Records (also available today).
About Greys' "Easy Listening"
"...a dissonant, malformed anthem that finds the hooks between salvos of noise and mathrock riffage." - Decibel
"Those who grew up in the 90s with a penchant for noise rock will find themselves right at home with Greys, but they aren't just scream therapy for the older crowd." - Alternative Press
"The group isn’t afraid of throwing in powerful hooks, never shies away from an almighty stoner riff and will not be convinced that compromise is anywhere in the cards... this hits hard, fast and without apology, the way that Hüsker Dü‘s Land Speed Record did. Of course, this outfit has more in common with Damaged-era Black Flag and Fugazi than Bob Mould and the boys, but the intensity is undeniable. Smart and powerful, this collection of songs is like sprinkling angel dust on your oatmeal." - PopMatters
"...loud, raucous and full of attitude. The four-piece resurrect punk and hardcore vibes from the '90s, proudly wearing their Fugazi and Drive Like Jehu influences. But this is far from a tribute record - Greys find the space to imprint their sound overtop the obvious origins. Lead singer and guitarist Shehzaad Jiwani is a force able to command melodic interludes, as well as inject intensity via gritty screams. It's the perfect balance that displays the height of Greys, mixing the past with a math rock approach that meshes superbly." - Exclaim!
Indexing a bunch of influences when describing a band kind of misses the point. Nothing’s original. Not even the blogosphere-favorited who layer reverb-y tape loops while accompanying themselves on washboard and yowling into six echo mics in Icelandic. Fine. But isn’t the whole point to pretend like we’ve heard this before? So let’s get the referential, namedrop-y, “Recommended if you like...” stuff out of the way ASAP.
Toronto’s Greys play loud, feedback-fueled, angular riffs that sound a bit like if John Reis was fucking Duane Denison in an overly-lit, dead-end of America motel room, and then Dave Grohlbarrelled in wearing a lampshade on his head and sprayed beer on everyone and spilled bong water all over the burnt-out broadloom carpet and there was, like, a Fugazi poster on the wall, and then someone put on a Greys tape. It’s like if a band you liked sounded like another band you liked and then you liked it. That’s enough, right?
What Greys has that shitty bands don’t have is a sense of history, of being connected to the broad, unruly narrative of “rock and roll.” On their debut release, 2011’s Ultra Sorta EP, the quartet indulged their taste for sludgy, guitar-driven rock that you could maybe call “post-hardcore,” but only if you mean that it was so post-hardcore that it doubled back on itself and just became straight-ahead rock music again. Their latest EP, Easy Listening, was recorded at Toronto's prestigious Chemical Sound studio and it sees the band expanding, getting heavier, softer, faster, slower, melodic and atonal at the same time, without being all ostentatious and arty about it. The fact that they recorded the entirety of the new release live to tape is just another way of giving lesser bands the finger with one hand while grabbing their gigantic cajones with the other.
Even more impressive is that the band got together just over a year ago, in late 2010. In that time, they've toured across all of Canada and the United States, recorded two EPs, received coverage from Alternative Press, Exclaim!, PopMatters and several more, and have been asked to perform at festivals including North By Northeast, Halifax Pop Explosion, Pouzza Fest, and 2011's invite-only incarnation of The Fest in Gainesville, FL. Their odometer read something like 45 000 kilometers in just six months, but who's counting?
The four kids, only barely in their 20s for Christ's sake, have already gigged with Mike Watt, Young Widows, Marnie Stern, Tera Melos, Braids, NoMeansNo, Algernon Cadwallader, Living With Lions and By Surprise, all the while playing hometown gigs with their buddies in Burning Love, DD/MM/YYYY, Indian Handcrafts, Teenage Kicks, Spitfist, Rituals, The Junction, TV Freaks and plenty more, holding their own at each show.
That they’re a) good; and b) have earned it would be fine, but add to this a welcome sense of humor both on stage and off (see: song titles nodding at The Simpsons and Twin Peaks and all the other shit you like), and you’ve got a band that’s not only good but instantly likeable. And cool. And without really acting like they’re trying to be. And without really acting like they’re trying to not try to be.
So, Greys. Recommended if you like: Greys.
Watch the video for "Cascades" here!
Greys Live
5/22 Saint John, NB @ Pub Down Under
5/23 Providence, RI @ AS220
5/24 Long Island, NY @ TBA
5/25 Williamstown, NJ @ 1619 House
5/26 Lowell, MA @ Dirty Douglas
5/27 New York, NY @ Fat Baby
5/29 Philadelphia, PA @ Model Home
5/30 Pittsburgh, PA @ Intermission Lounge
6/11 Windsor, ON @ Phog Lounge
6/13 Grand Rapids, MI @ Mulligan’s
6/14 Chicago, IL @ Gnarnia
6/15 Milwaukee, WI @ Scheme City
6/17 Winnipeg, MB @ Frames Gallery
6/19 Saskatoon, SK @ Sweatlodge
6/20 Edmonton, AB @ Wunderbar
6/23 Kamloops, BC @ Little Big House
6/24 Abbotsford, BC @ Aftermath
6/26 Tacoma, WA @ New Frontier
6/28 Seattle, WA @ The Space
6/29 Bellingham, WA @ Shakedown
6/30 Nanaimo, BC @ Crace Mountain
7/01 Vancouver, BC @ Zoo Shop
7/04 Edmonton, AB @ Wunderbar
7/7 Madison, WI @ The Wisco
"Easy Listening" Track List:
1. Post-American
2. Cascades
3. The Way of All Flesh
4. Gladhander
5. Queen of the Harpies
6. Telegraph Hill
For more information, visit:
www.greysrock.com
Greys on Facebook
Greys on Twitter
Greys on BandCamp
Greys on Tumblr
www.concessionrecords.com
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