Introducing GRIVE: New Freedom & Experimentation from France

GRIVE

New album "Tales of Uncertainty" released 22nd November on Talitres
New Single “How Many Years" MUSIC VIDEO HERE

The song thrush, known as "grive" in French, is a migratory bird with no strict boundaries. Its clear, melodious song is famous for its lively rhythm, repetitive patterns, and varied verses, with each bird having its unique repertoire that may include imitations reflecting its habitat.  This ornithological description might encourage you to observe birds more closely. More importantly, it aims to make you appreciate with your heart and senses the project at hand: GRIVE, a bird's name for a contemporary (post-?) rock group. Agnès Gayraud (La Féline) and Paul Régimbeau (Mondkopf, Oiseaux-Tempête, FOUDRE !, Autrenoir, Extreme Precautions) share a passion for freedom, experimentation, and the pursuit of new sounds. Although their collaboration officially took flight in early 2021 with the release of an EP, the two musicians began experimenting as early as 2015 at the Performing Arts Forum in Saint-Erme, Picardy. In these rural landscapes, they sketched out a new sound—both direct and contemplative—where they could tell stories of fast-food joints and on new single, mancipation (“How Many Years”), which their debut album, Tales of Uncertainty, crystallizes into a unique work. Recorded live (at Mer Noir studio in Paris and then at Mélodium in Montreuil), these eight tracks capture the excitement and spontaneity of a meeting, revealing an unmatched chemistry.  "How Many Years," the second single from GRIVE's debut album, evokes the feeling of an ancient lullaby carried on the wind, underpinned by the hypnotic oscillation of a synthesizer motif. The lyrics ask, "How many years will it take for us to destroy you?" The voice, with its almost childlike melismas, resonates like a modern-day Cassandra. Beneath the ethereal atmosphere, a simmering anger stirs. This is a declaration of war, a minimalist, covert anthem for our uncertain times.

Shoegaze? Slowcore? Post-folk? The genre doesn’t matter. Deeply organic, Grive’s compositions evoke liminal spaces and vast landscapes. Influenced by the sound of the 90s, their ambivalent nature is resolutely contemporary: by turns sharp with their edgy guitar riffs or soothing with the thick, round bass of a Moog synthesizer. Here, the storm threatens (or is it the heart rumbling?). There, the melodies with clear lines and poisonous beauty insinuate themselves into languid and haunting tempos. And as a guiding thread, Agnès's voice speaks directly to our subconscious reveries, in that fine line between dream and reality where everything is uncertain. 

Previoius single - Wait and See 

Tracklist:

1. Hotel Room

2. Wait and See

3. Burger Shack

4. How Many Years

5. Darkest Woman on Earth

6. Go Up the River

7. Quicksands

8. The Loop