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Review:
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In 2007 Unicorn Digital released a CD from the band
The Gourishankar entitled 2nd Hands that featured a complex
mix of musical styles all melded together with a wonderful
symphonic prog approach. It was the first music most of
us had ever heard of the band. Now Unicorn has reissued
The Gourishankar’s first independently released CD from
2003 entitled Close Grip. Fans can hear the origins of their
unique style in its infancy. This four member outfit originally
formed in 2002 and now as well as then consisted of Vlad
MJ Whiner (vocals), Doran Usher (keyboards), Nomy Agranson
(guitars, backing vocals) and Cat Heady (drums, loops).
This recording was released within a year of them being
together.***
Overall, the music of The Gourishankar is melodic, song-oriented
symphonic progressive rock that displays a wider than usual
range of influences and inspiration especially on their
second recording. But even here at the beginning of the
band’s recording career you start to hear that strange mix.
The CD starts off with “Gripped by Fear” (2:04) which is
a dark, brooding and dramatic instrumental full of atmosphere
and mystery, before launching into the very upbeat “Insomnia”
(7:28). The band is constantly shifting gears, speeding
up, slowing down, and inserting unusual musical motifs that
really keep you guessing. The songs themselves, there are
eight of them here including one bonus track, feature four
over seven-minutes and four under four-minutes. But length
hardly seems to matter here, with so much going on it’s
easy to lose track of where you are: is this a new song
or has the song I’m listening to changed? The Gourishankar
seems to relish the concept of mixing up non-traditional
musical elements. The tunes are sprinkled throughout with
spoken word or sound loops, great synthesizer performances,
jazzy interludes, some techno beat, heavy crunchy guitar
and more.***
If you enjoyed The Gourishankar’s release 2nd Hands
you’ll certainly want to addClose Grip to your collection.
The CD is a mere 48-minutes but is packed with some great
music and gives us a interesting glimpse into the band’s
early approach to music that manifested itself more fully
on their second release. This is a very unique band with
a very individual sound which is why as before I heartily
recommend The Gourishankar to symphonic prog fans everywhere.***
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