“Grant” from Vienna are children of the 00s who grew up with indie rock – with Julian Casablancas and his eighth note strumming strokes, with the fallen king and hat hero Pete Doherty in 2004, the funky heir to the throne Franz Ferdinand, and the repetitive Riff rider and vocal artistry developing Alex Turner – a generation that, with the Libertines reunion in 2014, at least somewhat regained faith in music and the good old days.
Grant are: Dima Braune (vocals), Stefan Kovacic (git.), Stephan Weissensteiner (git.) Alexander Peirl (bass) and Manuel Höller (drums). Grant’s sound on their third album “Großenwahn” is stylistically more diverse than that of a normal indie band: on their new album, Grant bring together jazzy, prog, funky, ska and the 80s as well as a word-precise, well-read lyric spirit – also in the Stagger Well Fitted – Libertines Hat.
Funk, jazz and prog have already been heard in the Grant Sound, and this continues in many songs – e.g Donauauen, which crosses funky bass lines with jazzy guitar runs. Also in I am Ibiza does the radio work? In galaxies beams the radiant Robert Fripp’sche prog guitar into space.
The indie influences are also represented again: this time Foals guitars in Tired. The Strokes-typical drum kit in Epithemeus. And the eternal inspiration The Libertines. In the stanzas of galaxies the guitars duel high-low similar to the Libs song Campaign of Hate. But already the opener coffee corner is a revelation for fans of the grandiose Libertines B-side Dilly Boyswhich the Grant sound “is based on,” one might say, if it’s standing on even feet. The instruments play freely, knowing that if they should fall, they will help each other up again in order to conquer the world together. Or didn’t Grant already conquer the world with the Kaffeeeck?
Neu im Grant-Sound
Ska in is brand new to the Grant sound No time and Tsch. As well as the 80s in the song When do you come home with the decade-defining slightly watery chorus effect. And in the poignant Closer 3H+1e you even get into the song from the feeling Jeannie abducted and, as in the Falco song, taken on an emotional journey through a longer chord progression. The spiritual connection between word and melody make this song an emotional temple of faith for the listener.
Grant’s signature band sound is created by bringing together musically minded musicians with diverse genre preferences such as jazz, and the intertwining of their instrumental parts that complement the whole, resulting in a sound that’s on the verge of falling apart, but is held together by the indestructible musical vision of the five musicians. The respective basic genres of the songs, be it indie, funk or ska, are recolored by the jazz guitar influence. Grant were never a direct band, which was both a strength and a weakness for some listeners. But on the album “Großenwahn” their indirectness sounds purposeful and formulated.
Poetic texts from the indie hat
In addition to the stylistically diverse sound, poetic texts are conjured up from the indie hat, which float above the music and set Grant apart from other bands. Dima Braune ignites a firework display of literary quotations. Megalomania, however, also addresses everyday issues such as in Tsch and No time and political as in I am Ibiza interspersed. And there are again Libertines text references on the new album, the most beautiful Doherty reference being clearly the line of text: “Work makes you high”.
Grant as “Guitar Band”
The production is what cements the album as a true ‘guitar album’ and Grant as a ‘guitar band’. Since the last album “Unter dem Milchwald” in 2017 they have taken their time; the result is a sophistication that you can hear on the album: the guitars sound juicy like never before. Here and there you can also hear synthesizers, which give the songs depth in a prog manner and let them end spherically.
Megalomania is Grant’s most ambitious and mature work. “Grossewahn” is a journey, takes turns in the songs and lyrics, offers literary references, emotional ups and downs, in the Closer 3He+1e gipfeln – and in the end is one of those twisted, impressive journeys that other Austrian indie listeners like to talk about at length.
[Änderung 01/01/2022: ganzer vorletzter Absatz herausgenommen, weil unausgereift]
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Guitar music and concert sketches