FLASH: GRAVAS – GRAVAS

With their self-titled album, Gravas use their folk-rock sound to paint vast emotional and heartfelt canvases. Review.

GRAVAS – GRAVAS

Full of mystery, I’m On Earth is the opening track of Gravas’ new album, which the band has simply named after themselves. Why this choice? Because, and it’s evident in every track, this is a personal, intimate, and passionate record. Their deep connection to nature, to life, and to all things organic is audible in the arrangements. Even on Queen Evelyn, darker in tone and rich with intoxicating textures, Gravas pulsate with emotion. Gentle on Is It The Moon, the band isn’t afraid to summon up the desert in the cinematic and exhilarating Teepees. Sung with a sense of urgency, the voices merge with a fascinating harmony over a backdrop that’s consistently smooth, precise, and stripped back. The strength of this record lies in its ability to do a lot with distinct and easily recognisable sounds.

Up to now, the band, built around the artist Aurélie Gravas, has been singing in English. A shift occurs with La Vieille, sung in French: touching, full of lines that are as poetic as they are political, and with a breathless sense of progression. Again, it’s intimate, gut-wrenching, loving, and generous. Jean Brusselmans returns to English, featuring ethereal backing vocals and an atmosphere that is both chilling and soothing. A Bouncing Pickle paints a portrait of everyday anxiety, the kind that spirals but often halts before reaching disaster. Once again, the desert is invoked, this time in a bilingual track, the vivid Apache et Kitoko.

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For My Virgin Skin On Yours, Gravas choose to highlight the vocals over a sparse guitar backdrop. The mood is light, tender, and confident. Contrast comes with Twelve Square Metres, more oppressive in its theme, lyrics, and arrangements. That sense of pressure continues with ALI, the last French-language track, as striking as it is dramatic. It tackles domestic violence in a powerful and deeply affecting way. My Larva Whale carries undercurrents of melancholy while soothing wounds. Finally, Gravas close this new album with Sisters, once again woven with a rich array of sincere, moving emotions. The album ends with a certain softness that captures the essence of the Brussels-based band’s musical universe. Superb!

 

Now Playing: Queen Evelyn

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📷:  GRAVAS – OLIVER DONNET

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