Bridge Collapse (Noah)

As sad as I am that Grass Widow is on an artistic hiatus, I can’t say that I’m not absolutely ecstatic about the crush of new/interesting/excellent tunes the ladies of GW have been cranking out. First it was Hannah Lew’s Cold Beat, then Lillian Marling’s Ruby Pins, and now Raven Mahon and Lew’s thrashy little gem Bridge Collapse, the second release on Lew’s new label Crime On The Moon.

What I find most satisfying about the releases flowing out of the disparate minds of the Grass Widow crew is that it feels like the band has surgically extricated itself from each other and over the course of their pseudo-break-up is crafting the pieces needed to stitch everything back together. You can feel the varied influences in Cold Beat and Ruby Pins, the guitars and drums, the vocal stylings that when, and if, pieced together might form some aspect of Grass Widow. Bridge Collapse adds yet another layer, as Mahon and Lew’s voices (aided by Rank/Xerox’s Jon Shade) bleed together to form a take on eerie and beautiful harmonies so often heard in Grass Widow. Here though, Lew and Mahon drop the vocal sounds on top of a churning, jagged pillow of guitar-fueled noise. It’s one part pretty, one part thrash, with each part a similar but different exploration of the Grass Widow sound. At the rate they’re dropping new bands and new releases, I might just have dedicate this entire column to the ladies of Grass Widow.

:Bridge Collapse – Wilderness: