A MOMENT OF WEAKNESS

It took a long time for Grey Mouse to return with their next album, but in 2021 they released 'A Moment of Weakness' with yet another considerable twist in both line-up and style. Founder and bassist Alex Chunikhin is still there, also now adding guitar, while his brother (I am guessing) drummer Kirill is again in the band but this time he only plays on half of the tracks with Denis Bayukansky providing the rest. Singer Victoria has been replaced by a male vocalist in Mikhail Kudrey while the sitars have both disappeared and how we have cellist Uliana Volkova and no guests at all.

This is the most depressing and downbeat of all their releases, and singer Mikhail is a real find, with clear unaccented vocals which makes one think of the classic, blues-based singers like Jim Morrison, Nick Drake, David Byron etc. There is a great deal of restrained passion and power within his voice, and when he reaches up, he hits the notes and sustains them in a manner which is indicative of someone who has undertaken a great deal of live work and knows exactly what he is capable of. The cello adds a wonderfully gothic and deep feel, and there is far less guitar which allows the band to shine incredibly well on songs like "Better Than Me". Alex is also playing chords on his bass which always adds a different style and timbre to the songs which are thoughtful and polished. Again, there is a great deal of space within the arrangement, and there are times when the music is just drums and bass and the feeling is very much of the late Sixties/early Seventies and one can imagine this being played by The Doors if they were still around today.

Grey Mouse are a band who keep changing and transforming themselves, the result being a series of albums which are all worth investigating, but this is the farthest removed from what they have been doing previously and alongside 'Trip" is my favourite to date. I wonder what they will come up with next?