Grand Hallway

August 24, 2009

I should take an entry or two to address how absolutely thick the music scene is here in the Northwest. Whether it’s an annual festival like, Sasquatch, Bumbershoot, or even the Capitol Hill Block Party, the centrality of the city alone continues to make Seattle a stop on countless tours… and while the web of venues within these hills seems to attract musicians from across the globe, we’ve got a plethora of local artists who truly give our city character.

Which brings me to the subject of, Grand Hallway, an eight-piece orchestral pop-band, founded in 2005 by Tomo Nakayama, former member of Asahi, and Jen Wood. After releasing their debut album, Yes Is The Answer, in 2007 on Sideout Records (home to Bright Eyes, Cursive, and Nada Surf), the band toured the West Coast and Japan with Arthur Yu, and Japanese singer/songwriter, Shugo Tokumaru. Their travels really seemed to inspire the sound of their EP, We Flew Ephemera, in 2008.

The band lost two members shortly after (bassist Erik Numann and drummer Bob Roberts), but by the faith of their success, were blessed with three more, Joel Harmon, Kevin Large, and multi-instrumentalist Chris Zasche. They quickly returned to the studio to produce their sophomore album, Promenade: an absolute gem. This masterpiece, a little more dramatic than its precedent, is filled with glorifying build-ups that stimulate the mind with another story-told; a tainted novel tempered by delicate orchestration, perhaps a child of Beirut. Tomo’s vocals momentarily strike that of Matthew Hales (Aqualung), while in others, latch along to the harmonies in a fashion that I can only recall to The Beatles – but if not that, everything else blinds in comparison. Each track starts off troubled and ends completely celebrated, I can almost taste relief as they near the last chorus. Grand Hallway turns their audience into a therapist of sorts, being graceful in ways that can only be understood by a listening ear and open heart.

MP3 Elinor with The Golden Hair (Tsukimi)
MP3 Raindrops (Matsuri)

Posted by Cheryse in Artist Spotlight