The Grunions “CHRONO ECHO” (LP)

The Grunions are back with their edgy, distinctive, sometimes lo-fi album Chrono Echo. Listening to these guys conjures up memories of some of the countercultural greats of the seventies, acts like The Band coming to mind. The differences is The Grunions specialize in instrumental music. The result is a record that feels somewhat more akin analogously to the music present in a Quentin Tarantino film. Chrono Echo is smartly structured in how it lulls the listener into a trance-like state with the opening track, fittingly titled Overture.

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 Then from there it begins to build a sort of punk rock crescendo, the next track – Chrono Echo – taking on an almost psychedelic, trippy kind of undertone despite an abundance of acoustics, including bandmate Andrew Joncas’ guitar. The album is best suited for a road trip, picture a convertible whizzing down the highway as dusk begins to fall. It reminds one of a time when music was more than just about ratings, catchy hooks, and – dare I say it – glorified product placements. The Grunions remind their listeners what music is really supposed to be about.

In some ways, the best kind of songs really are akin to storytelling, and this is where for me The Grunions particularly shine. The album really is a creative road map through time and space, taking the listener on a musical odyssey that feels at once punkish, simultaneously experimental, with a little bit of honky-tonk. “Three of us – Andrew, Christian, and Jeremy – met after we were recruited for a now-defunct Montreal surf band,” the band explained, in an interview with Buzz Music. “After developing a kinship we agreed that we’d like to continue creating music together. Needing a fourth member to help round out the sound of the band, Christian invited his college buddy and former band-mate Nick to join us during one of our rehearsals. We very quickly got along, and within a few weeks of him joining the band, we were gigging and working on new songs together.”

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It’s the homegrown quality the band describes that resonates within each of their records, including Chrono Echo. All of the music has this naturalistic ease, there’s no sense of reference or posturing. All of the songs are wholly original, while stylistically belonging in a sort of timeless pantheon of music making one think of beatniks, vanilla haze, and a time when people weren’t on phones and actually read books, the paper. As with everything The Grunions do, this is not accidental, and it’s the fact everything is deliberate yet feels so natural speaking volumes about their craft.

“…the initial ideas for the songs are developed before they are introduced to the rest of the band,” the group says in the interview. “Having a clear vision for the songs when they are presented to the band is important, however, allowing the flexibility for each member to infuse their own personality into the parts they play helps to achieve the musicality and chemistry that you are picking up on. The goal of the band has always been to have a great time. If we can have fun on stage the crowd will catch on and party with us! We hope the album will inspire people in the same way!”

Mark Druery