Transient Legendary

A Drink And A Quick Decision

Every so often a group comes along that combines all the best music you grew up with together with a giddy hunger to push the envelope forwards into the future. That combine the angular guitars, pounding basslines and heady euphoria of New Order and the Mondays with the metropolitan nouse and witty introspection of bands like Blur. Grand National are that band . A pair of young Londoners releasing some of the best experimental pop songs the UK has produced In far too long. The British national saving grace, indeed.

This summer, Grand National has been spending their time in NYC playing the occasional acoustic set and getting ready for their sophomore full-length release "A Drink & A Quick Decision," which in fact is already available to the public via Itunes and other online distributers but the actual record will be released on Sept 10th which will include remixes, superb packaging and artwork, as well as additional multimedia. There’s a darker more obviously electro sound on some tracks, which may well lead to more Depeche Mode comparisons when the reviewers get their pens out. Others have an even more live instrumental sound than the songs of ‘KTNH’, perhaps influenced by the Grand National live shows that have evolved since the debut. On the live front, Grand National’s 6-piece band drew praise from both critics and fans during several sold out U.S. shows in support of Kicking The National Habit. While previous stops were limited to New York, Los Angeles and SXSW, Grand National promises to bring their magic stateside for an extensive tour around the release of A Drink And A Quick Decision.

Jade Mcnelis

The fresh new face of Montreal's notoriously eclectic music scene, which Jade is still relatively new to considering the Tallahassee native relocated only a year ago. Discovered while opening for Stars, she made some friends and got the invite and less than a year later recorded and released her first EP named All The Fables with help from Murray from the Dears on guitar and Chris Seligman from Stars co-producing. She has signed with Good Fences, an indie label i'm assuming was established by friends of Stars mainly because the only other band also signed is Memphis, which happens to be Stars singer, Torquill Campbell's side-project.

For a mere 20 years of age, her voice and songwriting technique are mature and we'll versed. The intrumentation and arrangements are actually quite lovely, shying away from the more often than not drab dynamics and song flow that similar female vocalists and artists find consuming their work. I definately encourage all to check her out, if you're a fan of Emily Haines, Stars, Amy Milan, Mirah, Sparklehorse, or The Dears...chances are you'll enjoy what you hear. She's a sweet girl, I recently xchanged a few emails with her and its nice to see talented young people doing their part for our music community and generation, culturally and artistically. Buy Her EP!

Jade At Good Fences