Grant Duncan - EP Review: Journey To The High Road
Grant Duncan’s Journey To The High Road EP follows an album he released a while back. It’s a great follow up, sticking with his style of writing in a country tinged way, while hinting at broadening the styles of music he’s been listening to. Grant has now also dabbled in production.
The opening track on this brilliant 5-song EP All The Tools You Need begins with a melodic piano line before the rhythm kicks in. It has a great almost reggae feel, yet it’s still very country. All The Tools You Need also features some great interlocking rhythms..
The second tune It Won’t Mean Much Until It’s Gone paints a picture of a New Zealand landscape being ruined, while some people ignore the problem. The lyrics “It all seems so easy, when you’re facing the other way” is a reasonably direct wake up call. The piano intro on this tune is wonderful.
This Was Our Way brings the tempo down a bit with its acoustic guitar opening. This is the EP's ballad, and while all four songs are catchy and likeable, this song is the one which stayed in my head for ages afterwards.
The fourth track Hotel With The Red Brick Walls plays on an up-tempo high note. It’s your classic county two-step, is lead and centered around a wonderfully played rhythm guitar and a wonderful track on such a great release.
The EP closes on an up-tempo high note with Sometime Real Soon, it has a wonderful hook into the chorus, and at just 2.18 long, it is really a bit short. I could have heard the chorus repeated a few more times than it was.
This EP has only one fault: it’s too short.
About Grant Duncan
Grant is also the frontman for Tokyo-based indie pop combo Pavement Candy which perform regularly around the Tokyo live arena and he was also previously the songwriter/bassist and vocalist for NZ rock band The Audio Justice who were finalists in the NZ 2013 Battle of the Bands competition.
Grant wrote and produced a full length album Alliance which was released on Spotify and Amazon on March 25 2018. His follow-up Early Morning Rise will be released on November 1 2018.
Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Grant Duncan
Releases
Other Reviews By darryl baser
MEDaL - Album Review: Sequela
14 Dec 2022 // by darryl baser
Christchurch trio MEDaL are a combination of many years of New Zealand musical history. Singer and guitar slinger David Mulcahy was in JPSE and Superette, bass player John Billows has spent time with The Renderers and Dark Matter and drummer Mark Whyte is part of Into The Void.
Read More...
The Bobby Holidays - Album Review: At The Beach
13 Dec 2022 // by darryl baser
The Bobby Holidays' At The Beach opens with the song Jane, syncopation is to the fore with a great horn section blowing against bass, drums and guitar. The song has an up tempo happy summer vibe.
Read More...
Mad Cow - Single Review: Same Boat
01 Dec 2022 // by darryl baser
Same Boat is the latest single to be released Taranaki 3-piece Mad Cow. Mad Cow are mainstays of the New Plymouth have been around since the 1990’s in the North Island’s music scene, evolving from school band No Comment.
Read More...
23 Nov 2022 // by darryl baser
It might seem like George D Henderson has been a part of the New Zealand music landscape for about as long as Keith Richards has been playing guitar. He’s been in the Flying Nun arena with The Puddle based in Dunedin.
Read More...
Nika - Single Review: Saviour Complex
03 Nov 2022 // by darryl baser
A song with an interesting title will always grab my attention, and the idea of people with a saviour complex has always fascinated me, so when the new song by Nika called Saviour Complex was offered to me to review I almost somersaulted. The song opens with a gently and alluring piano melody before Nika’s voice kicks in and from the first notes some vocal training is obvious.
Read More...
The RVMES - Single Review: Simple Things
05 Oct 2022 // by darryl baser
Oh My God. There are bangers then there’s this tune.
Read More...
VÏKÆ - EP Review: Love Games
25 Aug 2022 // by darryl baser
Veronika Bell, known to music fans as Vikae, has been composing and producing music for a good few years, and is gaining some crossover traction between the dance and pop worlds. While she writes many of her tunes on a piano, and can perform them beautifully with piano and her impressive voice, it is the dance-styled pop versions of her tune which have been garnering her acclaim.
Read More...
Mecuzine - Album Review: Locksmith Thief
21 Jul 2022 // by darryl baser
Now that’s a great way to open an album. Bruised and Broken is the first track of Mecuzine’s new album Locksmith Thief, and my god what an epic track to open their new record.
Read More...
Most Viewed Artists
Latest Galleries
NZ Top 10 Singles
- TOO SWEET
Hozier - BEAUTIFUL THINGS
Benson Boone - LOSE CONTROL
Teddy Swims - I LIKE THE WAY YOU KISS ME
Artemas - SATURN
SZA - STICK SEASON
Noah Kahan - END OF BEGINNING
Djo - LIKE THAT
Future And Metro Boomin feat. Kendrick Lamar - ESPRESSO
Sabrina Carpenter - WE CAN'T BE FRIENDS (WAIT FOR YOUR LOVE)
Ariana Grande
More Content on muzic.net.nz
Google Site Search
100% New Zealand Music
All content on this website is copyright to muzic.net.nz and other respective rights holders. Redistribution of any material presented here without permission is prohibited.
Report A Problem
