ALBUM OF THE WEEK: ANCHES EN MAAT — GRAILS (2023)

Definitely my favourite album to come out of 2023, Anches En Maat is an absolute treat.

I struggled a bit deciding on what to choose this week, as Grails’ 2008 album, Take Refuge in Clean Living is one of my favourites of all time, so go and check that out too.

With their cinematic, textured soundscapes, Grails are masters of building an atmosphere. This album accompanied me on many a night time canal walk last year, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel like a disgraced cop in a gritty 80s film. Even the song titles paint vivid pictures (Viktor’s Night Map, Pool of Gems).

Like much of their work, this album is lonely, but uplifting. Moody, pained guitars follow echoey synths into swelling crescendos that take you out of your body, sending you flying through a deluge of kaleidoscopic sounds.

Founding Grails members Emil Amos and Alex Hall both make up Lilacs and Champagne, and Amos plays drums in Om and has solo projects under both his own name (Zone Black was released last year) and Holy Sons. Also check out Amos’ podcast, Drifter’s Sympathy — another massive influence on Soundpit. Ilyas Ahmed released A Dream of Another last year, and A.E. Paterra plays as one half of Zombi and solo under the name Majeure.

Similar artists:

Tangerine dream

Sleep

Mogwai

John Maus

Dengue fever

Brant Bjork

Kyuss

Daliborovo Granje

Slint

John Carpenter

Originally published 07/01/24 on Medium.