The Grand Gestures – Second

Album Review by Chris Buckle | 24 Sep 2013
Album title: Second
Artist: The Grand Gestures
Label: Chute Records
Release date: 7 Oct

For his second collection as The Grand Gestures, Spare Snare’s Jan Burnett invites faces old and new to supply vocals for diverse compositions. Returning figures include Jill O’Sullivan – responsible for the last album’s standout Deer in a Cross Hair, and again opening proceedings with a deliciously moody offering – and Sanjeev Kohli, who injects a waggish irreverence in the form of grotesque spoken-word piece The Spree of Brian May (as in killing, not shopping).

Elsewhere, first-time Gesturers include RM Hubbert (soul-searching over industrial electro-pop on Regret Is a Dish Best Served Cold) and Pauline Alexander (a serene presence on A Whisper of Sayonara), both helping distinguish Second from its predecessor. But while it’s the guests who are name-checked on the sleeve, it’s Burnett who warrants the most acknowledgement and praise, for taking a motely grab bag of sounds and contributors and crafting something genuinely fresh and – somewhat against the odds – cohesive. [Chris Buckle]

http://www.thegrandgestures.com