Escape Grace remind me a bit of Snapcase. They’re not exactly the same – far from it – but there’s a bit of something there I can’t put my finger on. The Quicksand comparisons are also pretty obvious too. Coming from the same Gainesville scene as Against Me! and the No Idea Records label, Escape Grace are a lot heavier than most of those bands. With some groove-laden basslines and off-kilter percussion, mixed up with more shouting and screaming than you can shake a stick at, the four songs on offer on ‘II’ are heavy, hard-hitting and very, very raw. ‘Gormandizer’ is probably the best of the bunch, a song which starts off heavy and continues to be aggresive throughout. If you like bands of Quicksand‘s ilk then Escape Grace will be just the thing to tide you over for a few months.
www.escapegrace.net
Arsenal Records
paul