This week's feature: Sebastien Grainger

Sebastien Grainger, Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains (Outside)

WHO

One-time member of Death From Above 1979 going it alone for the first time.

DISCOGRAPHY
American Names EP (Outside, 2008)
Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains (Outside, 2008)

IN A NUTSHELL

Sebastien Grainger shows that even if his sound has changed, the quality of his music hasn't.

THE STORY

There are two good things to come out of Sebastien Grainger finally releasing his (sort of) self-titled solo debut.

The first is that it has finally become possible to assess Death From Above 1979 more fully. It definitely makes it clear that Grainger played a secondary role in determining that band's creative direction. After all, former bandmate Jesse Keeler's post-break-up project, MSTRKRFT, was/is basically an amped-up version of DFA79, whereas Grainger's self-titled album shows him going in a very different, much more rock-oriented direction. Apart from album closer "Renegade Silence" (on which takes things in a dancier direction under the name The Rhythm Method), there's really very little to connect his work now with what he was doing back at the beginning of the decade. Consequently, the band's claim of creative differences at the time of the split certainly becomes pretty believable.

The second, obviously, is that it's full of excellent songs, and it's always nice to have another good album to listen to. Grainger may disappoint anyone who was hoping for You're A Woman, I'm a Machine, Part II, (again, because it seems that Keeler was the one behind those dancefloor inclinations), but most other people should find more than enough to like here. Songs like "Love Can Be So Mean" and "American Names" are catchy, Killers-esque fun (and I say that as someone whose guilty pleasure is, in fact, The Killers), while "(Are There) Ways To Come Home?" and "By Cover of Night (Fire Fight)" show that Grainger is equally adept at writing moodier, slower building songs.

Of course, most people are going to listen to Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains through the prism of Grainger's last band. This is probably unavoidable, and I certainly haven't helped matters much with this review. But Sebastien Grainger has made an album that's good enough to make him known for what he's done on his own, rather than what he did as a duo. Here's hoping that he succeeds on this count, because he clearly deserves it.

Want to win Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains? Thanks to Outside, i(heart)music has a copy to give away. To enter to win, just e-mail me your name and mailing address, and I'll pick a winner randomly!