grand grand trio - Grand Grand Trio

Grand Grand Trio

Grand Grand Trio
self-released; 2014

3.9 out of 5

By Ethan Skelton

Dirty never tasted so good. The boys in Grand Grand Trio have a knack for some deep groove and coarse guitars. Mix this with some quasi-syncopated versing and you have a good start on just what these French rockers are all about on their self-titled album Grand Grand Trio. 

Pulling from an eclectic taste serves them very well thanks to their sense for organic application. Jazz rock fusion pop can be cacophonic when in the wrong hands, but they weave and blend quite seamlessly, granted you’ll scratch your head a couple of times nonetheless. Settle in for some free form linear moments, off the wall tone drones, ambient noodlin, and some blow your hair back screams just for good measure. There’s no lacking style or skill, but the musical conformist would probably beg to differ. This stuff will definitely rub some people the wrong way, but if you’ve never made enemies then you’ve never stood for anything. Grand Grand Trio stands for something. Let’s get into it.

“Mountain” was an amazing showcasing every corner of their sound and brand into one lengthy experiment. Lengthy on paper, yes, but listening to the song passes effortlessly because the material is nothing of the ordinary. New soundscapes and improvisatory passages keep your brain engaged like a trip into uncharted territory. I use trip loosely because this could easily be attributed to a more chemical sense of the word especially on “SheShe.” The feel is sort of funk but really just spastic phrasing over a bed of quirkily placed rhythms. The all-instrumentals to come were a mixed bag. “La Giraffe” didn’t do much for me and the same could be said for “Athenes.” What the other tracks have is a little more direction within the maze. You can push the boundaries of structure so far and still hold a pleasant exchange, but that fell to the wayside in the closing three.

“Hero” seemed to echo a little of the same random treatment that grazed “Mountain.” It’s full of wilting guitar sections and slamming drums, meant for a reaction whether it good or bad. In the end, this is some unique stuff and will make any musician second-guess themselves when they “get weird” on their instrument. Maybe it’s not that weird after all.

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