Artist : The Grey Race
Album : Give It Love
Label : Unfiltered
Genre : Alternative
Bitrate : 185 kbps avg
Source : CD (LP)
Playtime : 00:40:06 (55.9MB)
Rls date : 2007-09-07
Store date : 2007-09-18
[Track List]
1. Stop Inside Your Start 3:58
2. Cracks 3:05
3. Try Not To Think 3:37
4. Jumping In 3:40
5. Goodbye To You 3:39
6. On The Chin 3:20
7. From Me To You 3:28
8. The Johnsons 4:11
9. Through Your Eyes 3:40
10.Straight For The Middle 3:55
11.Lights Out 3:33
Jon Darling: vocals, guitar
Jeff Hill: bass
Ethan Eubanks: drums
ôI donÆt really like the norm û I get a kick out of things
that are a little messed up,ö says Jon Darling, singer,
songwriter and guitarist for The Grey Race. ôLeaving the
cracks and creases in, the imperfections, is attractive to
me.ö And who would expect anything less from a singer who,
on his New York bandÆs eponymous debut album (due in
September 2007 on Unfiltered Records) sings: You see itÆs
easy without the pain/ And twice as boring/ Mix it up/ And
keep the blood flowing/ You know you can.
Jon says of his collaboration with bassist Jeff Hill and
drummer Ethan Eubanks, the pair he credits with designing
The Grey RaceÆs sonic architecture: ôWeÆve got this
sweet-and-sour thing going on. My stuff is pretty dark and
moody, but Ethan and JeffÆs production brought a
completely new dimension to it.ö An unsettling lyric like
Remember to turn the blade full circle, for instance, now
swirls pleasantly atop an intoxicating waltz in ôStraight
For the Middle.ö With Ethan and JeffÆs discovery of JonÆs
treasure trove of songs, a lightning bolt struck the
songwriterÆs creative norm.
ôWe loved JonÆs voice and envisioned this whole sound
around him,ö Ethan says. ôWe wanted to see what that voice
could do if you put it right up front and arranged all the
other musical elements strictly to complement it.ö That
entailed letting JonÆs acoustic playing take the lead and
not relying on electric guitar to carry the songs.
Confides Jon, who taught himself to play bar chords with a
distortion pedal via Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and
Sepultura, ôI have to admit that at first the production
freaked me out. It wasnÆt heavy. It was a brand new sound
for me. But Ethan and JeffÆs instincts were right on, and
now I canÆt imagine these songs any other way.ö
JonÆs own musical instincts were developed as a lad
growing up in New Plymouth, New Zealand. He stumbled onto
songwriting after learning The CureÆs ô10:15 on a Saturday
Night.ö ôI figured out how to play it, and I was blown
away,ö he recalls. Ethan hails from the San Francisco bay
area and has spent the last 10 years recording and
performing with many singer songwriters and bands
including Ivy, where he met Andy Chase, who mixed the
record and EP and ultimately signed them to his label.
Jeff Hill, who was raised in New York tri state area, is
one of New York cities most respected bass players and he
has shared the stage with many greats including a long
standing stint with Rufus Wainwright both in the studio
and his touring band.
The songs populating the Grey Race CD and EP (slated for a
summer 2007 release) were recorded with a little drum set,
a ProTools rig, a Mac, and a few basic microphones in
JeffÆs bedroom in Brooklyn, NY. Friends (including Tracy
Bonham, for whom Jon plays guitar) and family (Julia
Darling, JonÆs singer-songwriter sister) were called in to
lend backup vocals, keyboards, vibes and strings, all
contributing to a richly textured, deeply atmospheric
sound that belies its humble origins.
ôThe process of making this record was so great,ö Ethan
attests. ôWe were doing it for the love of it.ö Without a
record deal, says Jeff: ôThere was really no purpose
except trying to make some cool music. And we didnÆt labor
over it.ö The resulting EP (boasting a brilliant cover of
The Zombies ôCare of Cell 44ö) and full-length debut are
windows into the particular way Jon seems to have lived
his life since leaving New Zealand for America. Certain
themes emerge, however. Album standouts ôGoodbye to You,ö
ôThe Johnsonsö and ôThe Stop Inside Your Startö limn the
pitfalls of too much of a good thing. Jon notes of the
latter, ôThatÆs a reminder to myself of how excited about
life and excessive I get, and how I tend to jump the gun
on things like drinking and partying. The best lesson for
me to learn is to stop before it starts.ö
The lovely ôThrough Your Eyesö finds Jon thinking
wistfully of an old girlfriend. ôTaking It on the Chinö
suggests his ambivalence about fronting a band, an issue
that has receded of late. ôI feel comfortable performing
with The Grey Race,ö he reveals. ôItÆs a nice little unit,
a real collective. It makes me feel at home.ö ôTry Not to
Thinkö is about songwriting itself. ôThe standard format
of songwriting doesn't appeal to me,ö Jon opines. ôIÆd
rather just try to let something flow freely from my mind
into the song.ö
In fact, The Grey Race has not been run on a straight
line; it twists and turns through unexpected tributaries.
It is alternately muscular and delicate, melancholy and
amused, pop and something decidedly uncharted. ôI think
this sound is quite different from a lot of stuff thatÆs
happening in music now,ö Jon ventures. ôI couldnÆt begin
to say what bandwagon it would jump on. But I find that
interesting û I think thatÆs exactly why people should
give it a listen.ö