“And I told you there was nothing I have to hide…” Kim Krans declares in the bewitchingly insomniatic track “Night Song,” the opener to Grace & Lies (No Quarter), the collaboration with her husband Jonny Ollsin aptly named Family Band. Its crushing static and hypnotic guitar line serves as a bone-chilling invitation inside the group’s second full-length album, and is an obvious standout to the collection. In “Ride,” an acoustic finger-picked guitar opens the songs, while Krans’ words “let a story be told in full, boy you write the ending kind, the prettiest words you can find” play out like a letter. The interplay between the acoustic and electric guitar develop an interesting dynamic – the acoustic pattern playing off the electric which resonates with ever increasing ferocity as it progresses ultimately reaching a climax where the drums make a late appearance pushing the torment over the edge causing the musical unit to burst with epic force.
The album has the ability to shift gears while also remaining on a steady course. For “Again,” the track produced by Grizzly Bear’s Daniel Rossen for and episode of Shaking Through, a steady backbeat of percussion opens the door for Krans latest narrative. While the percussion is always present in its background serving as a foundation in the song, the guitar contributes in a prominent fashion. The music morphs to accompany her vocals. At each lyrical turn, a new or augmented element emerges adding anticipation to each line, and on the following song and the album’s title track, a simple throbbing bass and harmonized backing vocals elevate as if a communal sacrifice is being made. Krans has the listener’s complete attention as the guitar stirs and her voice pushes the boundaries of the powerful mantra-like words.
Overall, the album is moody with its sparse instrumentation that lays as a backdrop for Krans’ meditative, siren-esque vocals. It’s introverted, but longs to be heard. And it should be.
Family Band will be performing songs from Grace & Lies live in its rightful setting tonight at their Philly album release show in the Side Chapel of The First Unitarian Church. You can also purchase the album HERE. – Michael Colavita