MANDATE
FACEBOOK [https://www.facebook.com/mandatelimpwave/] / BANDCAMP
[https://mandate.bandcamp.com/releases]
PROTO POST-PUNK. LATE NEO-GARAGE. LIMP-WAVE.
- SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
NANA GRIZOL
Website [https://www.nanagrizol.net/home] / Facebook
[https://www.facebook.com/nanagrizol666/] / Spotify
[https://open.spotify.com/artist/7FPO7WTShHCXnmVv7lhhZM?si=cWxciruqSfqZT9tYgwC_Eg]
/ Instagram
[https://www.instagram.com/theogrizol/?fbclid=IwAR24RDBEfC54ZWc8achVBT8b87rfuzgJdeYyBwJFEDnKThyTCMMSj3vUViM]
Nana Grizol, "Ursa Minor," Orange Twin Records
Growing up in the South, Theo Hilton found both lonely solace and wide
community in music.
When he formed Nana Grizol in Athens, Ga., in 2007, he secured an
outlet for expressing how confusion and constant pining became
ingrained into a young, queer male in a small town. Despite Athens'
liberal leanings and bevy of artistic collaborators, Theo walked in
liminal spaces as a queer surrounded by straight people.
Nana Grizol's first two records "Love It, Love It" (2008) and "Ruth"
(2010) chronicled that mixed experience. With "Ursa Minor," the first
Nana Grizol record in six years, Theo Hilton is unequivocally certain
about who he is and what he wants to say.
He's traveled and studied, moving from Athens to Seattle to New York
and, currently, to New Orleans. Along the way, the role of social
justice advocate came to suit him. Through song, he casts a critical
eye on "Ursa Minor" to concerns environmental, like the effect of oil
refineries in the Mississippi watershed, as well as how neoliberal
policies chew up and spit out innocent human lives.
He's loved and lost and been reaffirmed. The new songs reflect an
artist fully aware of what he's learned, what's changed for the
better, what still sucks, and what, exactly, we're going to do about
it.
On "Ursa Minor," a loyal cast of collaborators return to give wing to
Theo's songs. Robbie Cucchiaro (Music Tapes) adds trumpet and
euphonium lines that echo both the golden era of Elephant 6 recordings
and the brass bands of Theo's current home. Laura Carter (Elf Power,
Orange Twin Records) supplies secondary drumming, clarinet trills, and
trumpet calls, a familiar cradle for new songs. Jared Gandy (Area Men,
Witches), on bass and guitar, notches another year in a two-decade
collaboration with Theo. Matte Cathcart (Area Men, Door-Keys), an ally
pulled to Athens, Ga., from Bloomington, Indiana, rounds out the
quintet on drums. Everyone, except Theo, lives in Athens. Recorded and
co-produced by Andy Lemaster at Chase Park Transduction Studio in
Athens, "Ursa Minor" completes a transition from 4-track recordings to
big, clean production without sacrificing intensity.
In addition to themes of queer identity and capitalist aggression, the
songs on "Ursa Minor" take cues from literary and academic tomes.
Throughout the album's 12 songs, look for references and inspirations
to works such as Cindy Milstein's "Anarchism and its Aspirations,"
Richard Wright's "American Hunger," and Carson McCullers' "The Heart
is a Lonely Hunter," among others.
-André Gallant
music
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20/07/2020 Last update