Grails-Burning Off Impurities (2007)

 

Artist: Grails

Title: Burning Off Impurities

Label: Temporary Residence

Cat #: TRR 118

Year of Release: 2007

Country and Year of Edition Issue: US 2007

Listed Condition: VG+/VG+

Sell Date: 8/3/25

Sell Price: $6.56

Discogs Last Sold: 6/4/25 NM/VG+ $4.56

Low: $1.50

Median: $5.66

Average: $5.52

High: $7.99

Current low price: $6.67

Current Number on Sale at Discogs: 15

Have/Want: 481/71

Where: Carson City, NV

Time it took to sell: 2 years

Where and When Bought: Facebook marketplace $2 or $3 lot

Gwiz-gau Letter Grade:  B

Sad To See It Go: No

Grails was one of those bands I was curious about hearing, and I had no idea why.  Didn't know they were from Portland, OR or had Emil Amos, who drummed on the Om record I didn't hear the next year.  All I knew was a band name I heard somewhere and snapped it up in a cheap lot of cds.  In the back of my head, I knew I'd flip it someday.

This is ambient post-rock.  With that sentence, I find myself imitating the video blogger that does tributes to her dad's record collection.  She usually starts each review with a summary of the style of music.  Lately she also cites the producer, which I almost never do.  She never rips into anything harshly, which of course is one of the most joyous acts of music writing.  I wish just for once she'd knock the figurine off the record onto the tone arm and declare "this record is a total piece of shit," but perhaps it won't happen with her late fathers record collection.  Unless there's a duplicate of something she doesn't like.  A man can dream!

When I first saw her reviews, I thought she know very little about the subject matter, but over time, but she seemed to have evolved from that to know quite a bit and be "must see TV" for me. For my reviewing changed my scope and devolved when I started buying cheap music in bulk to flip when my collection sales started slowing down.  Now the scope for me is "whatever sells."    I usually know what I'm writing about except for Jazz which I've been listening to more lately.  And this.  Tradin' places!

I'm not the world's biggest deep diver on post rock but Burning Off Impurities was good instrumental atmosphere music.  A banjo here, a wah in the distance there.  I'm on my third listen writing this and it's really nothing to turn off.  Violin, horns, trumpets, some kinda chime?  I could swear the closing title track nicked the whistling part at the end of "Two Of Us" by the Beatles then ends with the "Give Peace A Chance" rhythm.

Grails just played NYC last month at Le Poisson Rouge.  I think I was asked if I wanted to go and I said no.  While I'm not feeling any deep regrets, I feel like they have more going on than bigger acts in the genre. Maybe if someone brings it up again, I'll say yes.

Grails, I suspect we'll meet again some sunny day.