Description:	Deluxe G/FOLD LP on Important
	Format:	LP (vinyl)
	Genre(s):	Experimental/Math/Noise Rock
	Label:	Important
	Price:	£21.79
	Availability:	Sold out / currently unavailable. Sorry!

4
...according to our Brett on 19 June 2008.

I like Grails in my life and here's some more. For me to like. I tell you what, the first track on here is an absolute belter and I think they know it, the little sheet included in the CD digipak has artwork based around it with nary a mention of the other songs. Actually the artwork in general is a weird mishmash of styles from cheesy stoner-rock paintings to a weird collage of what looks like a tiny early 20th century lynch mob at the feet of a giant lovely lady, then the cover artwork is something totally different again. What does it all MEAN? God only knows. Back to that first song then, it starts and finishes with morse code but in between you've got a massive groove with Eastern-sounding noodling over the top, it sounds opulent, indulgent and ominous all at the same time. Like the sharif's court band trying to knock out a jam whilst stoned out of their minds and running down a massive mountain to escape an avalanche that may or may not exist only in their frazzled imaginations. After that it mellows out quite a bit in the middle but the last two tracks ratchet the intensity back up for another couple of really strong tracks (a questionable organ interlude notwithstanding). If you liked the quasi-religious feel of stuff like Om's 'Pilgrimage' and you've not heard Grails before this could well be right up your street.

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What their label says...

Lp is limited to 1000 copies packaged in a deluxe heavy duty tip-on style jacket with a 5th color spot gloss and bonus poster.
Opening with a nod to Syd Barret's Pink Floyd (Piper at the Gates of Dawn) Take Refuge In Clean Living begins with morse code and drops into one of the heaviest slow-burn grooves in the Grails canon. Sounding something like Hawkwind and Ravi Shankar scoring Bladerunner, it's lysergic and earthy for Grails in a new way. The rest of the record moves from blissful Eno-inspired ambience, to epic Morricone rock hymns, to an unexpected take on a Ventures tune that returns the listener back to the very beginnings of instrumental rock music. 'Take Refuge in Clean Living' sees Grails pulling back their already-wide lens on multiple sonic horizons. Grails often take what seems like it would sound over-ambitious on paper and make it flow sonically in a laid-back style. The band is defined by exploration and they've created a template for themselves where any style or method can be ingested to reap legitimate rewards. 'Take Refuge' seems to suggest that Grails can't run out of ideas. The touring incarnation of Grails in 2006 and 2007 included good friend and drummer Ben Nugent, allowing Emil Amos to switch to 3rd guitar for the band's live instrumentation. The DNA of this 'guitar-dense' line up allowed for new kinds of songs and bigger melodies. In early 2007, the then-5-piece entered Steven Lobdell's (Faust) Audible Alchemy again to document the new songs written with this augmented sound - the resultant sessions make up the record 'Take Refuge in Clean Living'. (The group has since returned to the original 4 members.)