Grampfather | Laugh Lines
(Independent)
The seventh album from Kingston-based band Grampfather is as literary as it is thrashing. Maybe it’s lead singer James Kwapisz’s elevated verse, but the way Laugh Lines unfolds makes you feel like you’re tuning into an epic poem, plumbing the darkness of doubt, and facing off against a defiant optimism. The opener, “Rot in Bliss,” despite its gory title, is as tenderhearted as it is headbang-able. For all its spiky guitar, the sound of the band is rounded and warm. The instrumentality is hard driving yet elegant, marrying indie rock with a psychedelic grunginess, replete with arranged melodies and syncopations that connect satisfyingly with Kwapisz’s lilting singing. The album revs the throttle on “Dredging,” a churning, moshable number that is all things sludge in title, sound, and metaphor. “Someday, When It’s Over, You’ll Fly Every Morning,” introduces a synth-wave sway, but still finds space for searing guitar solos. Don’t get too comfortable in the title track’s dreamy, bedroom-y sounds, because its weighty lyrics are delivered with a confrontational intensity that will disarm you.
This article appears in August 2024.
