Funny Place

Gracer is a trio that has risen from two Long Island bands, On the Might of Princes and Lux Courageous. I have never heard of either band, so I don't have much perspective where Gracer is coming from musically.

After listening to this layered album filled with lush echoey sounds it becomes much easier to pinpoint where it comes from. The layers are thick, the vocals are sometimes highlighted, but mostly muted into the mix of guitars, bass and drums. Speaking of guitars, it sounds like there are multiple guitar parts in nearly every song on this disc. That is not only hard to pull of as a trio, it is impossible. I wonder if they are touring with a second guitar player?

Regardless of their touring plans, this album comes off like a bit like what The Appleseed Cast could have developed into if they had decided to go more mainstream rock than their brand of experimental avante garde pop. And I think, overall, it is a passable effort.

There is nothing here that truly blows me away, but at the same time it is a very cohesive album from beginning to end with nothing on it that I would refer to as filler. This album has a lot of good melody lines that are very savvy and will stick in your head if you listen to them long enough.

The sound of this record is heavily influenced by the effects on the vocals and guitars throughout. Sometimes it is great, but other times it makes everything seem distant to the point that nothing can grab you even if it is supposed to. Overall the album is very listenable but it probably doesn't have enough truly noteworthy moments to become anything more than just a solid album.

Some of the better songs include "Emily Taylor," "Waiting for Departures," and "Hands."

I think fans of The Appleseed Cast, and the post-Sunny Day Real Estate album by The Fire Theft will really enjoy Gracer.