Alan McGee enloquece con The Grants

Que yo sepa todavía no han grabado nada, pero McGee en su blog ya habla y no para de ellos. Las canciones de myspace suenan bien. Son muy fragiles pero bonitas. Tienen algo de la melancolía de las baladas de The Pale Fountains.

http://www.myspace.com/thegrantsrock

The Grants are a band I've been watching for a while. They have come up through my clubs Death Disco and The Queen is Dead, starting at the bottom of the bill in '06 and selling out the venue at the end of '07. The musical vibe of the Grants is John Riley-era Byrds, and they also exhibit that uniquely scouse trait of emulating their hometown heroes Captain Beefheart, Leadbelly and Arthur Lee.

They have been sending me songs for a while and improving all the time. It was when they recorded I Am The One (with its cheeky nod to the Roses) that I realised the kid has it, and the song flows like early Ocean Blue.

Chris Grant is a young songwriter who's already built up a fine repertoire of songs, and his tunes are beyond reproach. They've confirmed what I've seen in them live - these are bedsit kids writing anthems to their own dreams. The Grants are very much in development and carry the same vibe Glasvegas had two years ago. A slow development is what is missing in today's music industry of hit'n'run A&R, where if they don't make it on the first single, they are left to flounder, and if they don't repeat their success on their second single, then they are written off. It's a buzz watching a band like the Grants find their feet, discovering that the holy grail of the pure and perfect pop songs is easily within their reach.

Their live show is always an exciting prospect: there is an energy and amphetamine rush about it that is missing among the skinny jeans brigade. It reminds me of the mid-80s, when punk rock sensibilities merged with psychedelia, transforming the songwriting of Liverpool's greats. The Grants recall the great period where bands like the La's, the Bunnymen, the Teardrop Explodes and Wah! Heat were making the scene.

This Is The One summons up the spirit of the Pale Fountains (led by the Head brothers) who were one of the scouse proponents of the "quiet pop" scene of the 80s. At a time when the Bunnymen were giving us long raincoats and doom-laden post-punk, and the Teardrop Explodes were deep into keyboard-driven psychedelia, the Pale Fountains, like the Grants, were a quirky oddity, and were signed for a notoriously large sum on the strength of tunes influenced by Love, Burt Bacharach and Sergio Mendes. The Grants are aware of those acts and have the pop smarts to take them all on. Frankly, they are the best scouse pop band in years.

And the best bit? They are doing it without the NME-approved Deltasonic scene, which has had a stranglehold on Liverpool for far too long. Their songs are available for download. Glasvegas got big by giving away their songs and not being precious about letting people have their songs before the record companies did.

As usual, the Grants' following has started in London, but it should soon spread. Do yourself a favour and download their songs. Hopefully they will have time to develop some more before the record companies indulge in another Glasvegas-style frenzy. Nine months ago the music business didn't want to know about Glasvegas; now they can write their own cheque. In a year's time, it will be "game on" for the Grants.