Album Review: Grapell’s Love Chamber EP Is Psychedelically Darkened Love
Love Chamber has a psychedelic dagger that cuts throughout it soulful rock. For however simple and earthy their musical arrangements are, there is a sense of higher sophistication like a nightclub VIP lounge. The richness of this album represents the luxuries of love, yet the sadder undertones show how it can be, at times, an impoverished experience.
Track By Track Review:
Every Time: has to be one of, if not, my favorite song of this record. It is incredibly fun in a quiet way. Like driving around in a 70’s Impala with no place to go, but all the desire to keep going. That is the sonic balance/wonder Grapell has achieved; to drive only with a sentiment (love) and no destination. Yet, is that not love? Hence, the album, from its first track, assures that you know you have entered Love’s Chamber, but whether or not you can or will get out of this emotion’s lock-up is in question.
Arrow: If there was ever a song that reminded you how sexy the guitar sounds it would Arrow. This track carries the exact precision of an arrow, but also the hidden cruelty of this weapon. Like love, when you target someone, you are trying to overpower them, maybe, even conquer them. Moreover, Emil Erstrand shows how hypnotic his voice is in the subtlest of ways. When he sings he carries hints of emotions that, for however filled with pain, still feel light, which is why he entrances. Not many can sing of love’s woes without sounding like they are pulled down by its burden. Instead Erstrand sings as if the highs and lows of love are like silver pieces falling upon him, of which, he walks through its glistened rain.
Some Places: Many Voices Speak is the guest vocal for this track, and her softly plush voices feels like someone laid a pillow upon Grapell’s musical mattress. The song plays into undercurrents of tranquility that is emblematic of love’s ability to take you adrift. Love will certainly take you “some places”, but the guitar, drum, and key arrangements by Emil Erstrand and Nils Nygårdh, whom compare and write all their songs, will lead you to decide whether you are being dragged or carried by this love.
Still Your Friend: Another track that exemplifies the coolness of Erstrand’s voice. I love how he sings as if he is walking through life like it is his sidewalk, and he stares around to observe those that cross his path. In life, friendships will become loves and loves will become friendships, yet Erstrand and Nygårdh offer a track that musically questions, which one is the upgrade?
Don’t Turn Into A Memory: a lullaby of heartbreak. It sounds like the saddened, yet twinkled song a person would sing to their self as they drift into a dream that they wish they could be their waking reality. So many people come in and out of our lives, and this song is dedicated to the few that we often wonder why they left and how could they leave?
Love Chamber is a fantastic EP, and if I would recommend it to all that wish for a smooth, psychedelic trip into the nuances of love .For more information on Grapell To Buy Love Chambers Ep Click Here.
