Artist: Grace Solero
Title: Metamorphosis
Genre: Rock / Alt Rock
Release Date: 15th July 2022
Label: Wohone Records
Album Review
Grace Solero has been a constant presence on the UK music scene for over 10 years and she has been creating and entertaining fans across our land along with Europe and the US with her unique and vibrant grungy Folk Rock with its dreamy atmospheres in that time whilst remaining true to herself and her musical visions. She pushes her own boundaries without succumbing to pressures to jump on current trends and bandwagons and there is an inherent truth in what she does and she stick to it. With the help of Dan Beaulaurier on guitars and Bjorn Zetterland on bass, both of whom have been with the band since the beginning, they have released three albums, ‘New Moon’ from 2009, ‘Hundred Years Apart’ from 2013 and the semi acoustic ‘Awake’ in 2018. The single ‘Awake’ from that album is included on the soon to be released new album ‘Metamorphosis’ along with the singles ‘Lucid Dream’, ‘Love And Addiction’ and ‘Orange Sky’ which were released in phases during the recent plague we all experienced, do you remember that?
‘Metamorphosis’ is all about the effects of and aftermath of this god forsaken phenomenon and how it has changed us. It waxes lyrical about all manner of subjects from relationships and their importance, truths and personal opinions, priorities and what matters. It shines a light on our relationship with ourselves, the world and how we treat it and above all the transcendence into a space of greater awareness and growth. Did I mention that drummer Dave Guy was not on board from the beginning? No? Well, he wasn’t, he came aboard the Grace Solero ship around five years ago and has slotted into the proceedings with the ease of gravy poured on a roast dinner. So, all’s good then? Yes, it is! “What's the album like?” I hear you exclaim! I’m getting to that, hold your horses, I’m still setting it up, we’ll get to that soon enough. Anyway, where was I?
The album is predominantly guitar based as per usual but with the added enhancements of other instruments like cello, Hammond Organ, Singing Bowls and Psaltery to give it variety and spice. A Psaltery, if you didn’t know, is a stringed instrument from the Zither family and has its origins in ancient Greece. The word in Ancient Greek means “stringed Instrument”. Anyway, on we go to ‘Metamorphosis’. I’ve had a few listens and it’s a great album. ‘Lucid Dream’ starts off the proceedings with its fluidity of motion, gradation of tone, all glued together by the husky warble of the vocal. The guitar soars and dives through the track whilst the bass funkily groin punches its familiar furrow. The start of ‘Metamorphosis’ encourages static jumping a la early grunge. It’s infused with energy, the bass being the perfect counterpoint to the vocal which winds and spirals through the middle of the composition like a vortex.
Dan Beaulaurier’s guitar jumping in when needed to keep the forward motion going until the track ends on a dead stop. ‘Awake’ is one of the best tracks on the album! It’s an anthem of punchy bass and light guitars that float high and then hover low. It’s a track for the morning when you go for a walk, the sun is not high enough to be too hot. There’s long shadow and stillness in the air, the impression is that this was a track that was a joy playing and recording. ‘Orange Sky’ is the next step forward, knees bent and head down, the head thrashes, the guitars warbles imperceptibly in the background like an alarm, the vocals taking on a more smoke like aura. I’ve always like Bjorn Zetterland’s bass playing! It always sounds just right for the track, the section or the bar. Never overdone, never overblown but always I get the impression that he fucking loves playing it! The same goes for Dan’s guitar. That’s the feel I especially get on ‘Time Waits for No One’.
So far so good! The slide notes on the bass on ‘Till I Return’ are just satisfying. There’s not many of them but those miniscule creative flourishes can make the difference to the overall performance of the song. And the bluesy guitars towards the end... Grace’s vocal is thick and then light and with the aforementioned smokiness, and with a little bit of dissonance thrown in for good measure. Cello winds the track down before we morph into penultimate track ‘Ocean Star’ which lolls and lilts from side to side like a tree in a breeze. The guitar flashes like stars in the night sky whilst the bass traces the orbit of the earth. The vocal outwards the end wavering like an Arabian Vampire or the seductive tones of a Medusa. ‘Shaman’ is journey’s end. A note on the bass is fingered with emphasis, it’s a beacon in the dark whilst all around is mist and then the guitars penetrate the mist like beams from many fire torches. I can feel a transformation coming...
The whole album feels like it could have been recorded from day break to dusk and at the cardinal points in between. The journey of a few years condensed down into a day. We ride the road with its bumps, we ride it with its smooth flatness. We ride the twists and the turns and encounter all sorts of obstacles. But at the end of the day, we have been tested. Our resilience, our strengths, our perseverance, our stamina and our willingness to grow have all been tested. We passed the test and metamorphosed into something that is still ourselves but not ourselves. I remember the comedian Steve Hughes doing a routine where he asked how anyone could be offended by Enya. Her music is just silence coloured in.
‘Metamorphosis’ is silence coloured in but done with such skill that there’s a symmetry to it that gives the impression no effort was required. Plenty of effort went into this but Grace Solero and Co have been at this for over a decade so effort is easy. I just think it’s a great album, enough said!
Tracklist
01. Lucid Dream
02. Metamorphosis
03. Love & Addiction
04. Awake
05. Orange Sky
06. Time Waits For No One
07. Till You Return
08. Ocean Star
09. Shaman
Line-up
Grace Solero – Vocals, Guitar & Psaltery
Dan Beaulaurier – Guitar & Backing Vocals
Bjorn Zetterland – Bass
Dave Guy – Drums, Percussion, Singing Bowl & Glockenspiel
Jonathan Clayton – Cello, Hammond Organ & B3 Organ
Website
http://gracesolero.com/wordpress/
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 9
Sound: 9
Total: 9 / 10
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