Over a three-year span, the enigmatic duo, GR^VE, composed of lyricist and vocalist Seraph and multi-instrumentalist Carbon, have created a succinct, yet, consistent and characterful body of work which manages to entice through the inherent moodiness, shrewd songwriting and superb production that the band have to offer. After a run of quality releases, GR^VE present their self-titled five-song EP, which is arguably their strongest work to date.
Having established themselves as an act with a clear understanding and skillset for genre mixture, GR^VE once again indulge in a perfect blend of styles, fusing elements of dreampop and shoegaze, contemporary electronica and trip hop, post punk and industrial, into something with great fluidity and cohesion.
From the airy opener, About Time, GR^VE move lightly and comfortably into dreampop territory, paving the way for the fantastic Flies On Venus, on which the band enlists the commanding talents and vocal authority of Ian Pickering (Sneaker Pimps, IAMX) to construct what feels like their most menacing and imposing song to date, colliding with atmospheric post rock and evoking remnants of nineties electronic-bent and dark-hued indie rock. From this exciting opening pair of tracks, GR^VE's new EP has already proven itself as an undeniable winner.
The instrumental Insomnolence which follows serves as an ambient breather and an opportunity to compose and regroup from the intensity of the preceding track. Cold Wind comes next, with Pickering returning this time solely as a composer, and the output is a nearly ambient dreampop number that could have found a home in contemporary indie cinema. Dreams is no stranger to the dreamy atmospherics in which the elusive pair have excelled during their emergence, and a piece with effective melodicism and grittiness that gives the EP's conclusion an extra layer of familiarity.
Once again, GR^VE rely on their strengths without falling into the pitfalls of any genre's stereotype, instead they exercise what they do best, and keep flourishing in genre fusion and the conveyance of beautiful sentimentality.
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