BLIND & UGLY

By the time Moscow's Grey Mouse returned with their second album in 2008 they had changed guitarists, with Arseny Fedorov now in that role while Herman Aleshin guested on two tracks as well. In many ways it is difficult to realise this is the same band as while they have moved more into stoner and less psychedelic, it is also far more passionate and experimental while containing more power. "Hatred" in particular is an all-consuming track with some wonderful basslines, drumming which drives hard when it needs to and sits back at others while the guitar really rocks. Nikolay has also grown greatly on confidence, using his vocals as a real delivery agent as opposed to just being along for the ride.

This is a far more progressive album than the debut, with the band bringing in elements both of RIO and avant garde improvisation, and not afraid to have long instrumental passages. It is almost as if in the three years since the last release they have matured greatly, and the result is an album which is far more enjoyable as there is just so much more depth and detail here to enjoy. This is something which needs to be played on headphones when one has the time to get inside as there is a great deal going on, and even when they ramp it up, as they do on "Obsession", there is the feeling that this is a very different outfit indeed from what they were before even though there has only been one change in line-up. The band were evolving, so what would come next?