Trainwreck Riders/Grayceon/Ovens October 21, 2007

"Trainwreck Riders are a rocking in their chair, guitar-pickin' on the porch band from San Francisco. Their debut album ‘Lonely Road Revival’ harkens back to a golden age of Americana, when folk, country and blues musically intertwined (even if the musicians themselves rarely did)...Lyrically lovelorn, nerves raw, and emotions muddled, Trainwreck Riders songs ramble down the briar-filled paths of confused interpersonal relationships. The lyrics may be downbeat, but the music is not, careening headlong into brawling rockabilly and punchy punk blues. But for every exhilarating, slam-bang number, there's a corresponding one with a much more laid-back rhythm, easygoing atmosphere and at times, even dreamy aura. This is Americana for a new America, and as train wrecks go, this one is a beauty." --allmusic.com

"The trio's [Grayceon's] members are drawn from Amber Asylum and Walken, but it's too simplistic to say that it's a combination of those bands; rather it's a jelling of separate aesthetics that often produces something uniquely striking. Hearing Jackie Perez Gratz's cello suddenly cut fiercely across the wired, marvelously dramatic drumming from Zack Farwell makes for pure thrills; interestingly it's often the group's singing and Max Doyle's guitar which acts as the steadying anchor in contrast. There's something very attractively early-seventies about Grayceon's work, suggesting the more open horizons of what paths metal could yet take instead of the outwardly-imposed stereotypes it found itself struggling with in later years... After so many dull variations on the ‘feedback plus orchestration' combination in the early 21st century, it's nice to hear a band that figures out a new approach exactly right. " --allmusic.com

Official Website: http://www.cafedunord.com/