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Thursday, February 26, 2009

Review: Grand Army - Toys Of Chaos


Grand Army – Toys Of Chaos
2009, Grand Army


On first listen I was inclined to dismiss Boston’s Grand Army as typical pop fodder with a very good vocalist out front, but the more I listened to Toys of Chaos, the more intrigued I became. While the songs are fairly straight forward pop music, there are some wonderfully dark hues running through the songs. Vocalist Alicia Racine is in fine form on songs such as Mike T.V., I Still Love You, Insects and Given The Circumstances. Save You is a definite highlight, informed by some serious funk in the bass and piano parts. The absolute star of the album however is Addict Of Me. This bizarre and otherworldly bit of musical flotsam sets the tonal sanity of Racine’s voice against a divergent musical backdrop that’s based more on a form of musical impressionism than standard structure.

Grand Army writes mostly accessible pop music shaded in dark hues and midnight tones on Toys Of Chaos. Living in darkness produces the occasional distortion of reality, and Toys Of Chaos is no exception to this rule. Toys Of Chaos is worth checking out but it won’t catch on with everyone.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Grand Army at www.myspace.com/grandarmy. No word on availability of the CD yet, but if you’d like to purchase Toys Of Chaos, contact the band through their MySpace page.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've listened to this album a bunch of times and i would not exactly call it POP music.. it has overtones of some catchy pop styles but it is definitely an album with some seriously talented musicians backing alicia's intriguing vocal styles.
really amazed at the songwriting skills this band has and how modern and original their beats and melodies are

Anonymous said...

nice review. I would say this record is less pop music more fusion rock. More electro dance less pop stand still. Sick bass. Siren Vocal. Feverish Beat. Hysterically Beautiful Synthesis. Sonically om-pure amply sound. The togetherness of all things jellyfish. Love, loss, and years of partying way to late. The immeasurable count of real friendship. It's all things one.

Anonymous said...

this music is fucking horrible. do not waste your time or life exploring. Slutty red-haired voicalist sounds like a cat caught in a blender.

Anonymous said...

girl has an UNREAL voice. CD sounds great and they rock live.