Gray Beast - The Album That Killed Its Parents

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* Photo Credit Faith Essary

Reviews:

Music Emissions:
4.5/5 Stars
"On a foundation of electronica and moody, Modest Mouse-esque indie rock, Gray Beast build up atmosphere with breezy R&B grooves and jazzy texturing. The album seems to go by all too fast, and every song offers it's fair share of flair, moody bliss and darker themes. Mature, expressive and progressive without saying so, Gray Beast are a force to be reckoned with."

~Kevin Sellers
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Pitch Perfect:
"Coulf Half Strom and Shoulda Dropped Out stand out as the album’s strongest efforts. The former is a very electronically effected number with space-aged keys and great ambient bee-bee-beeps and wa-wa-wahs. The latter is pretty enough to have been recorded for a Sean Lennon disk: patient, lyrics that begets longing and a soul-shattering melody. The solo vocal parts are only outshined by amazing harmonies (i.e. “December 5th 2005?), and the meandering shoe-gazing curves are highlighted by the occasional hairpin turn - inspiring dreams that are simultaneously comforting and dangerous."

~ Rachel Heisler
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The Alibi:
"What they assembled is a synth-rock fusion of electronic noise, soul, R&B and ’80s pop. The Album is playful and well produced, full of quintessential teen angst and raw human emotion on the softcore side of rock. Gray Beast's album better be the first of many."

~ Amy Dalness
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Exitfare:
"It's electronica that matches the climates where they orginate. The mood is dour, but with a bit of searching, you'll find that it's not all doom and gloom. There's a party brewing just beneath the surface."

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Music of the Moment:
"It fits perfectly into this time of year when people seem to always be in a hurry, and therefore need something to bring them down to earth again by the end of the day. The sound of Gray Beast really serves that purpose."

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Veritas Lux Mea:
"Gray Beast is composed of lifelong friends Lucas Spider and Boyd Reno, whose minimalist electronic sound on The Album That Killed Its Parents provides a perfect organic blend for that misty morning drive."

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Confessions of a Music Addict:
"I'm thinking that this music will come in handy for 'chill out' time. I'm thinking wine. I'm thinking a big furry rug. And finally, I'm thinking a fireplace."

Bio:

Gray Beast is the current musical expression of lifelong friends Lucas Spider and Boyd Reno. Lucas and Boyd met as young children in church, and their first formal musical experience would come years later with the formation of Albuquerque indie rock band Oh, Ranger! They released three LPs as the flagship band for Socyermom Records, Albuquerque’s most notorious label. Oh, Ranger! quickly established themselves as a staple of the southwest music scene through extensive touring and often scandalous live performances. When Oh, Ranger! dissolved, Boyd moved to Seattle and continued work on his increasingly popular solo project Boyd Reno is John Center. Meanwhile, Lucas joined Your Name In Lights, a progressive rock band that went on to play dates with the Warped Tour and at SXSW. When Lucas left YNIL and moved to Seattle, it was a forgone conclusion that Lucas and Boyd would play together again, but what direction would they take?

In the Spring of 2007, Boyd approached Lucas with the idea of an album tentatively titled The Album That Killed Its Parents. The album was to be heavily electronic and melancholic. Boyd knew he could use Lucas’s expertise with keyboards and digital sounds and Lucas was eager to join up with his old friend again. The truth was, Boyd and Lucas both ended up getting more than they bargained for. The sound that developed was something more than electronic. It had hints of soul and eighties pop and frequent artistic references to modern R&B. Lucas and Boyd wrote and recorded the album together over the course of a year and a half. They kept The Album That Killed Its Parents as the title of their record and named the project Gray Beast, a reference to Lucas’s dream about “ambiguous, aggressive, and capitalistic beings of some organic nature.”

Lucas and Boyd are currently rehearsing their live set and will be performing in the Seattle and Northwest region in Spring of '08, with extensive touring to follow.

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Contact:

Info@GrayBeast.net
myspace.com/graybeast