Today's song comes from one of my favourite records of last year, Grass Widow's second album, Past Time. On the surface of it, in mixing minimalist pop backings with female vocals, Grass Widow aren't doing anything particularly radical, but it's in their songwriting and singing that they really shine. The harmonies especially are wonderful, vocal lines overlapping and colliding like a crazed version of the Raincoats. The Raincoats are actually a pretty good touchstone for Grass Widow's sound as a whole, and I genuinely think the two albums stand up to that kind of comparison. Really clever and catchy.
This is my favourite song on the album, off-kilter vocals running into each other over the top of some frantic instrumentation. But, really, everything on the album's good and the songs are all really short (so even if you don't like one, another'll be along soon). The first record is fun too, with some nice trumpet parts that seem to have disappeared from the second, but Grass Widow seems to be one band that the cleaner production of a bigger label (Kill Rock Stars) and perhaps more time in the studio seem to have really helped.
Also, they're playing in London in a few weeks supporting another band I really like, current Ian Svenonius (ex-Nation of Ulysses etc. etc.) project Chain and the Gang. Killer lineup, right? Should be an excellent gig. See you there.
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