Grey Hairs – Colossal Downer
Nottingham four-piece Grey Hairs have been around the block. Their line-up features members of Lords, Fists, The Cult Of Dom Keller, Fonda 500 and Kogumaza (you do the maths) and their twelve-track debut – comprised of two earlier EPs – is pure record-collection rock. Colossal Downer is at once Albini-school post-hardcore given a shaking down by newer-school sludgecore and seesawing Rocket From The Crypt-style garage-punk with shout-along strut and heavy chug. A track like “Dave’s Van” even speeds Wire-like post-punk riffs up into white-hot shred to cut through a Bleach-era grind.
More simply, and a few dialled-back bass wanderings aside, Colossal Downer is a series of slo-mo headbangers that ramp up until they simply fall apart under their own messy high-tempos. Feedback and ugly sneers coat the nasty grooves with broken glass, speaker-blown guitar crunch faceplanting into the nearest available concrete. Just like Sleaford Mods, Grey Hairs are leading by example and showing the young’uns how it’s done.
Best track: “Ship”
~Colossal Downer will be released April 13th 2015 on a limited run of 495 orange-coloured vinyl via Gringo.~