Album Review: Sebastien Grainger – Yours To Discover
3 min read
Sebastien Grainger, once a part of the Death From Above 1979 duo, is back with his debut indie-pop solo album. After splitting from his other half Jesse Keeler in 2006, Grainger went on release a solo album under the name of Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains in 2008.In the years since then, Grainger has reunited with Keeler and has also been hard at work on his new album.
Yours To Discover is Grainger’s second solo album (or first, depending on how you look at things). It has been stated that this album focuses on back to basics pop and “is a declaration of peace in a time of war”. But is it posible for Sebastien Grainger to strike out on his own to create a pop album of gritty perfection or will he be drawn back to his old musical influences?
Synth beats make an appearance in almost every song on the album, and this gives the album a feeling oddly reminiscent of the 80s/90s in a way. Yours To Discover starts off a little strangely, with an unnecessary overture and Waking Up Dead which has a catchy chorus but takes a while to get into. However, I’m Looking For A Hand is less synth-heavy than the other tracks and this slow building song brings something different to the table. Thought-provoking lyrics such as “looking for a sound in a world of vision” makes for one of the highlights of the album.
The album then moves to the upbeat dance song of Your Body Works. The track is very 80s like, although this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as this is due to the distinctive underlying melody. This melody is what makes the song unique and creates the dance track vibe. Let’s Move To NYC instills mixed feelings; it has a great guitar riff in the middle and is what I would call a ‘head bob’ song (It’s kind of catchy, kind of laid back and you feel as if a little head bobbing is necessary). However, head bobbing songs are generally pretty bland, and Let’s Move To NYC begins to sound like the other tracks that have already been heard, not to mention that the song is pretty light on any singing from Grainger.
Going With You is the stand out song of the album, so it’s no wonder that it was released as the first single. It has a definite youth anthem vibe to it and is the kind of song you want to belt out at the top of your lungs with your friends. It’s also more indie-pop than electro-synth like some of the other songs, and indie-pop definitely seems to work best for Grainger. Yet with Going With You being the middle track of the album, everything seems to go downhill from there.
Many of the songs that follow sound the same as the one’s we’ve already heard, making them easily forgettable. The ironically titled I Want Sebastien Grainger seems to feature one main lyric of “I want you” and the slowed down tempo doesn’t act in the song’s favour. The song also ends with some strange noise/vocals, which is a little off-putting. The last two songs I Don’t Believe In Ghosts and Some People Are Ghosts Too Soon obviously focus on a related theme, and having two similar songs one after another probably wasn’t a great move.
Yours To Discover is a bit of a mixed bag from Sebastien Grainger.However, the title invites its audience to discover its offerings and to make their own opinion on the content within.
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