Grammatics - Double Negative [Single]

Dance To The Radio

I don’t know if I trust Grammatics. I can’t decide if this single is riddled with overwrought, fey, art school posturing or is the sound of a band who are the real deal. My ambivalence towards this record makes it exceptionally tricky to review. Rather like a difficult to tune FM radio, I found listening to this a somewhat frustrating experience. At times Grammatics give a clear, strong signal and all the elements start to fall into place but then suddenly they kind of drift off station again leaving you desperately straining your ears in an attempt to extrapolate the song from the static.

‘Double Negative’ is a bit like one of those celebrity sibling photo spreads, whereby the sister or brother of one of “the beautiful people” have that genetic family resemblance but just aren’t quite as beautiful or handsome as their famous relation, there’s that special something missing. On this release Grammatics are close to producing a great song yet somehow it manages to fall away like sand through fingers and you can't quite pin down what it is that is lacking.

Maybe it’s the vocals, singer Owen Brinley looks the part and could well have just wandered off the set off ‘Brideshead Revisited’ with his stylised doe eyed, floppy fringed sincerity but the fact is the slightly whiney “emo” lilt to his vocals does become rather grating as the song progresses. Maybe it’s the oblique lyrics which veer dangerously towards the precipice of high pretension, ’I’ve no lucid conversation now my every thought bears an abstraction’ –Whatever! Or quite possibly it’s the way the song spins away from any discernible hook and instead of this coming across as brave or experimental seems rather wilful and merely adds to the listeners growing exasperation. There’s no doubting the technical ability of the band, yet for me at least ‘Double Negative’ lacks any real emotional heart and as such I found the track rather difficult to love. Like a business man at a lap dancing bar the song left me frustrated, unfulfilled but bizarrely willing to pay for another dance!

The jury’s still out on Grammatics but I’m certainly open to seeing what else they have to offer. On this showing however, the band seem to have all the right ingredients, they just lack a winning recipe.