A while back I used to write for another site and did an annual column/dig on AP’s yearly “100 Bands You Need To Know In ____” issue (Mine was entitled “I Read AP’s 100 Bands You Need To Know in ___ So You Don’t Have To”. Clever, right?) Sometimes there were some diamonds in the rough, but more often than not it was junk. The diamonds, however, when found stuck with me forever.
One such diamond was Greys from Toronto. At the time, their 3-song Drift EP was a nasty slab of Nirvana grunge merged with the almighty Helmet’s wall of heavy. Cut to 2014 and Greys debut full-length If Anything is cleaner, meaner, and an all around breath of fresh air in the face of a world of stale rock and/or roll. The songwriting has grown considerably since that EP as songs like “Pretty Grim” and “Chick Singer” focus on development of the song first and foremost instead of bashing you over the head with the hard rock (That comes later in each song).
However, If you prefer an intense head bashing immediately then try opener “Guy Picciotto” with its blistering wall of sound and staccato drums with your morning coffee. “Adderall”, like the name implies, is exactly that: an amphetamine-fueled romp that shares a similarity or two with “Territorial Pissings”. Elsewhere, “Flip Yr Lid” takes listeners back to Possum Kingdom while “Brain Dead” begins like a “Negative Creep” but ends somewhere else entirely leading into thunderous”Cold Soak” featuring an otherworldly guitar breakdown that makes this one of the many highlights here.
Do we need another Nirvana in this day and age? No. We need something more. Something else. I believe Greys is that “something else”. Take a listen to If Anything and find out for yourself.
If Anything is out on June 17th through Buzz Records/Carpark Records. Digital copies are available here.