Tripping across last.fm pages in Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia and other distant neighbours, I see the name GRAMMATICS starting to burn through in compulsive playlist clusters. Like PATRICK WOLF before them, GRAMMATICS seem to set devotional fires in some kinds of heart. Owen Brinley's outrageous clear voice and Emilia Ergin's serious cello have the power to stop you dead. While the voice swirls into near-falsetto, the cello bites deep and sudden. It's a thrilling and unique combination. The cello can drive with bass, but (as in "Polar Swelling") it can take the melodic lead with heartbreak consequences.
D.I.L.E.M.M.A. dances like a New Rave apostate at ballet school. The punctuating cello, and chimes of mysterious electronica build on an urgent rhythm section (Dominic Ord drums, Rory O'Hara bass), flicking between dark and light, narrated by Owen's remarkable voice. It's luxurious sonic theatre, compressed into a blistering four minutes. (a radio edit is available)
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Sharing A-side billing "Polar Swelling" extends itself, a glorious ballad, across six and a half minutes. The microbiological and theological reference leaves me floundering, but I know what "the grammar of grief" might be like, and the intensity and conviction of the band's performance transcends literal interpretation. The cello line at about three minutes will convert the hardest sceptic. Compelling is the word for it.
One thing is very clear. GRAMMATICS are a significant addition to the UK indie scene and they already have frantic people across Europe trying to make sure they can get hold of this single when it comes out officially.
www.grammatics.com
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