Grails salute Bruno Nicolai

Some recent Grails converts who picked up their new album Deep Politics in advance of tonight's show with James Blackshaw at Sneaky Dee's might be surprised to hear Portland's instro-psych whumpers covering All The Colors Of The Dark, Bruno Nicolai's darkly twisted theme from Sergio Martino's 1972 satanic cult thriller Tutti i Colori del Buio. Have a listen:

A fondness for Italian film music isn't something new to Grails, it's actually a formative influence. You can hear the inspiration of Morricone all over their 2003 debut Burden Of Hope (Neurot) even if it wasn't explicitly stated.
As Alex John Hall and crew have slowly let go of the dream of being the new Sun City Girls, Grails have become considerably less self-conscious about openly paying tribute to the touchstone artists who helped shape their sound. While touring back in 2005, they were constantly listening to Gong's You: Radio Gnome Invisible, Pt. 3 and the Flower Travellin' Band's Satori albums on the road and they couldn't care less who knew it which led to their Interpretations Of Three Psychedelic Rock Songs From Around The World  (Latitudes) EP.

Increasingly indulging in yet more psych-damaged explorations on subsequent releases, the Grails returned to their appreciation for the gloomy goodness of Italian film scores – specifically of the giallo horror variety – with 2008's Doomsdayer's Holiday (Temporary Residence) and the proggy fourth installment of their Black Tar Prophecies series for Important from last year. It turns out, that was all just building up to the Grails crowning achievement, Deep Politics (Temporary Residence) which neatly ties up all of their disparate influences in one beautifully packaged coloured vinyl double LP set with an etched fourth side no less.

Deep Politics




I Led Three Lives