While Grails' second release of the year isn't a mis-step, I simply don't find that I'm captivated by the melodies contained herein. For the second time this year the group have produced a 30+ minute long collection of pieces of epic magnitude, however, I'm often left waiting for songs to develop, and then let down as some of these pieces seem like incomplete thoughts when compared to the previous release.
Grails once again open and close songs with sound effects. "Doomsdayer's Holiday" launches the disc with banshee like screams in the distance and a rumble before the bombastic drums blast in. Twin guitars riff like an '80s metal record but the tune doesn't go far and dies a rather quick death, fading out sharply before developing into anything substantial. It sets the tone for the release as there's a lot of other 3-5 minute pieces on the disc which don't seem to end naturally. Even with the eastern samples of "Reincarnation Blues," the bombast seems much more westernized and the tune is unexcitingly rather monotone.
The pace remains constantly slow for the most part without the exciting peaks they're quite capable of achieving. It almost sounds lazy how they choose to spend time more in freakout parts in a song like "Immediate Mate" and quiet lulls in "X-Contaminations" than consciously work on a memorable driving melody. Other tunes like "The Natural Man" and "Acid Rain" would seem great on paper—incorporating a wide array of instruments like flute, vibes, piano, and dulcimer on the former and vocals and analog synths on the latter—but once again the melodic structure seems to be meandering and unchallenging. The latter, the album's closer, is a bit too '70s adult contemporary "safe territory" for my tastes, and is probably what leaves me with such a funny taste in my mouth when the record is over.
Any other group might have created a full album of 12 pieces, totalling just over 60 minutes, but Grails chose to give this 37+ minute long release to Temporary Residence, and, in turn, preserve the purity of Take Refuge in Clean Living. I'm thankful for that as while I can respect Doomsdayer's Holiday and know that somewhere some kids are getting completely baked and listening, I'll keep going back to Take Refuge.
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