It’s been over two years since Beach House graced us with a new record. And while some simply wait anxiously for the successor to “Teen Dream”, I’ve found myself fully immersed in an EP over the past few weeks that’s helping me through.
The EP in question is a self-titled debut work by Granit, a female duo from my dad’s native Barcelona. Cristina Checa and Alba Blasi formed the band after collaborating in several other projects, among them El Guincho‘s “Pop Negro”.
But to cite only Beach House when referring to Granit would be unjust to everything else going on. While there’s no doubting the influence the New York duo have, particularly the “Devotion”-era material, Granit also manage to incorporate the majestic uplifting nature bands like Sigur Rós bring to the table.
Granit’s EP opens with “Aresta”, one of its best songs. The keyboard sounds, synths and drum machine make for a great soundscape, that’s perfectly matched by the vocals, which, by the way, are in Catalan (sorry to burst your bubble if you thought it was Elven or something), an official language spoken in the Catalonia region of Spain. It feels slightly more synthetic than anything Beach House has ever done, which actually brings Au Revoir Simone to mind a bit. Despite the slightly synthetic feel, though, I’m still hooked within 30 seconds. .
If you follow the site regularly, you may have noticed that earlier this week we featured the video for “Marea Viva”, the closing track on the EP. It’s funny that “Marea Viva” closes the EP, because it’s pretty far removed from what opened the effort. While “Aresta” was slow and majestic, “Marea Viva” presents a sudden urgency, with drums much more in the forefront and eccentric yelps in the chorus that are met with frantic synthesizers as the track progresses. It’s hard to sing along to because of the language barrier, but after a couple listens it’s likely to be stuck in your head. Overall, and particularly on the vocals, “Marea Viva” seems to recall Twin Sister, particularly their earlier work.
Even if what’s just been described above doesn’t really sound all that appealing (in which case you’re most likely an alien and you should share this site’s existence across the galaxy) you should still listen to any of the tracks below. The magic they produce is pretty hard to describe using only words.
Once you’re sold (you will be), you can order the EP on 10″ vinyl, limited to 300 copies, on Granit’s Bandcamp, which should be out already but is going through manufacturing issues. It’ll be worth the wait, though, and you don’t want to miss out on this gem.
Connect with Granit – Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud | Bandcamp
