Grizzly Coast - Party of One
Elusively beguiling and tantalizing sums up the debut EP, entitled Party of One, just released by Grizzly Coast.
Grizzly Coast | Photo: Kyle Michael Murray
The project of Toronto artist Alannah Kavanagh, who began her music career as an acoustic singer-songwriter and then elevated her sound with a backing band, Grizzly Coast’s sound blends flavors of indie-rock with misty dream-pop savors into shimmering soundscapes rife with intimacy and emotional commitment.
Written in 2018, “when Kavanagh was living alone, not very social, and being tossed about by her mental health, each track investigates solitude from different perspectives.”
Never anticipating the EP would enter the world during a time when most people were feeling isolated, as if their lives had been abruptly interrupted and placed in suspension, Kavanagh hopes her music delivers relief during a time of unprecedented social severance.
Grizzly Coast features Alannah Kavanagh (vocals, guitar), Pavel Soltys (guitar), Jacqueline Tucci (bass), and Taylor Lucas (drums).
Encompassing five-tracks, the EP begins with “Catch & Release,” opening on glowing guitars full of jangly sparkles riding a driving upbeat rhythm, while Kavanagh’s deliciously textured voice fills the lyrics with effervescent energy. I love Tucci’s finessed, potent bass on this track, round and fat.
“Down at my edge / I pledged / They won’t cloud my lens / By our apple tree / You tempted me.”
Kavanagh really turns her voice loose on this track, embellishing the lyrics with deluxe flair.
“Forever” travels on low-slung glistening colors and then flows into a creamy, undulating melody, mesmerizing and dreamy, chock-full of hypnotic surfaces. Vaguely reminiscent of The Motel’s gorgeous “Only The Loney,” delicate harmonic allusions imbue the tune with alluring layers of coloration, raising the song to another level of captivation.
“Lonely Planet” features iridescent hues atop a rolling, supple melody. Wavering washes of guitar accents infuse the tune with simmering indie-rock tones as Kavanagh’s exquisitely lilting voice glides overhead on scrumptious timbres.
“Lonely planet oh / Lonely Ontario / I’m lonely in social scenarios / I keep a quiet home.”
“Storyteller” assumes pop rinses of pigmentation roving on a tight rhythm, while Kavanagh injects the lyrics with more urgency. “End of the Night” starts slow and then transitions to a cantering indie-rock tune fused with potent guitars leading to a full-bodied chorus bursting with radiant dynamics. Kavanagh really turns her voice loose on this track, embellishing the lyrics with deluxe flair.
Grizzly Coast has it going on! Hints of dream-pop merge with stylish indie-rock to coalesce into dazzling, evocative music. There's much to like about Party of One.
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