Short Reviews [The Grand Astoria - 2020 - "From the Great Beyond"]

There are times when one is sent an album, after it is played the only reaction is “how on earth am I going to describe that?”. The Grand Astoria are a Russian band who describe their music as “Psychedelic jam rock having sex with heavy metal”. Not too sure about the sex or metal, but add in blues, punk, Mars Volta, Pink Floyd, 90’s neo-prog with 70’s King Crimson and VDGG plus a warped sense of humour then you might just get close. Looking at their Bandcamp page reveals more than 30 releases, the vast majority of which are full albums, so these guys are nothing if not prolific, and they have released another studio album since this one came out in 2020. There is an energy and enthusiasm in this which is infectious, and unlike many releases on this label, many of the lyrics are in English which makes it more approachable for some (the language never bothers me). At times they sound like they are going to Americana with picked guitar but then they shoot off at tangents so one never knows what they are going to do next. Musically they seem to have no boundaries whatsoever, yet whatever they are segueing into or blending together somehow makes sense and the result is adventurous and quite unlike other bands in the scene. Some groups tend to take one band as a starting point and then move from there, but I have no idea where these guys are coming from as it is such a mixed midden of sound. Dirty and distorted in some places, clean and airy in others, this is eclectic yet somehow more mainstream than one might imagine. With such a huge back catalogue they can be quite a daunting prospect to investigate but why not start with this one and then go from there. Progheads will find much in here to enjoy.