The Grey Merchant - The Claude Glass Album Review

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The Grey Merchant recently released the first single from their brand new album "The Claude Glass".   The album is the second from the Cork five piece following the brilliant debut album "Avenue De Rennes". The band were originally a three piece but added two new members to create a fuller sound and to share the songwriting duties on this album. They also collaborated with Pete Mac from Paradox and Kieran Ring from Neon Atlas. The album was recorded in Cork and Brooklyn, mixed in Berlin and mastered in London making it a truly global project.

The album rather predictably starts with "Intro" which is 40 seconds of noise to get you ready for what's to come and that is the absolutely banging "Blood Book". This song is just downright incredible. The drumbeat mixed with the screaming vocals and underlying piano combine perfectly. Listen to it turned all the way up to 11.
"Sonder" is up next and takes you down a nostalgic grungy avenue. It again demonstrates the new sound the band have achieved by adding more members. "Radió Jellyfish Éireann" is not only hauntingly beautiful but it's also really funny to say out loud.
"No Pasarán" begins almost like a French dance song from the early 90's before turning into a powerful, thought provoking political anthem.
The recently released suspenseful single "Anthropocene" is next and seems to have even more depth than when it was first released which shows how each song has so many layers that you find more and more with each listen.
"Yawanawa Akuntsu Yanomami" brings an incredible amount of drama to break up the middle of the album before the band take a different route with the heavier almost metal "A Modest Proposal".
"Beirt Le Chéile" is another piece of music that brings suspense and fear the the forefront. It's cinematic and wonderful. It leads effortlessly into the ballad "Sticky Glue" before another left turn towards "Reputation". The album really is full of different styles but they all join together seamlessly.
The album comes to a close with "Johnny Massacre" which is the hard rock version of Baz Luhrmann's "Everybody's Free To Wear Sunscreen". Martin Luther King's powerful speech is elevated with some stunning music to accompany it. Yet again  The Grey Merchant knock it out of the park.

Simply put, "The Claude Glass" is nothing short of spectacular. Not one single minute of the album doesn't deserve to be there. It all glues together and compliments every single piece of music. This might well be one of the best Irish albums of all time. I know that sounds like I'm exaggerating but I'm really not.



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