“All I’ve come to find is better than divine.”
Greyhaven is undoubtedly one of the most exciting, refreshing, and unique sounding bands around right now, boasting an eerily consistent discography as proof Simply put, they’re the kind of band that makes you want to pick up a guitar and either learn their entire catalogue or smash the instrument to pieces. Since Empty Black and This Bright and Beautiful World are some of my favourite projects in their respective years, I’ve been itching to hear what they would do next ever since. Even with the band now signing to Solid State Records, Stereo Grief doesn’t stray far from the sound of those aforementioned albums. It takes their familiar crushing riffs and addictive hooks, and hones in on perfecting them. Entertaining the idea that they could push the envelope a third time around seemed like wishful thinking, but once more, I stand corrected.
Existing as the only single on this EP, “The Welcome Party” is a formidable introduction to this project, and just so strikingly Greyhaven. It takes all of the greatest parts of this project and throws it onto one track, leaving no room for questioning whether or not Stereo Grief will live up to its predecessors. Every moving part of this song feels like a welcome assault to the ears. With the pre chorus building up to an explosive resolve and the drop into a groovy alternate chorus on the tracks last leg, all the ingredients that make this band exhilarating are present and potent. There is no shortage of that recipe on the rest of this work either.
“Past Material” and “Chaos Collapse” capitalize on that frantic, chaotic sound that’s crawling throughout Greyhaven’s past material. With both songs, Ethan Spray’s drumming carries Brent Mills’ gorgeous vocal melodies flawlessly and makes it apparent that his drumwork can alternate the feel of a song almost entirely. There’s little to no downtime on either of these tracks, with the majority of it existing on the songs similarly theatrical choruses. I wouldn’t have minded if this EP was just non-stop violence, but there’s more to this record to unpack.
The lush, reverb soaked passages on “Sick and Lavish” showcase a new side to Brent’s singing on this EP and remind me of some of the spine chillingly beautiful vocals that are littered across Thornhill’s The Dark Pool. I feel that even more so with the closing track on this EP, “An Inverse Self-Reflection”, which can best be described as an emotional rollercoaster of an odyssey. The verses feature some of the smoothest bass-work coming from Johnny Meunch to date, and the breakdown on this track is arguably the strongest one on this EP – made especially evident by it’s adjacency to this song’s introspective, instrumental conclusion.
I’d love to tell you which of the five come out on top for me, but I honestly couldn’t. Picking a favourite would be a betrayal to the rest as each track is a masterclass in its own right as every song showcases and shares the parts of this band that I hold close to my heart. It’s not only cohesive to itself, but to the rest of their work in quality and sound. Stereo Grief is an exemplary effort in the post-hardcore-sphere and just another triumph in Greyhaven’s legacy of excellence.
9.5/10
Stereo Grief is out April 12th via Solid State Records, and can be pre-ordered here.