Gramercy Riffs | Desire Trails [ALBUM REVIEW]

I’m tempted to use this as an opportunity to explain why ‘Gramercy Riffs’ is an awesome band name, but I suppose the goal of an album review isn’t to ensure that readers pick up on obscure references made to 1980s cult cinema. It’s a shame really, but reluctantly I must digress. 

Anyway my mathematical wizardry tells me it’s been something close to four years since maritime Canadian rockers Gramercy Riffs released their critically acclaimed debut LP, It’s Heartbreak. That’s like 25 years in ‘indie music years’, which means that this month’s release of Desire Trails marks a long-anticipated end to the band’s hiatus from the musical limelight (my guess is they agreed to step back and let Miley do her thing). 

This second album doesn’t disappoint. Though not adventurously unlike its predecessor, Desire Trails represents a solid sophomore release, from a band seemingly well poised to start playing for keeps with some of the bigger vintage new wave bands. By blending mellow synth melodies with laid-back boy-girl vocals, Gramercy Riffs delivers a sound that’s cozy and warm, but also at times pensive and melancholic. Emotive themes of love and loneliness again feature prominently in this second musical work, but in this case their sound seems to range from soulful pop (“Promises”), to indie ballad (“Dance with Me”), to something resembling slow wavering blues rock (“Fall Blues”). The end result isn’t particularly exciting in the sense of pioneering a new sound, but it is something that should please fans of understated anthemic indie music.