Shades Of Grey

Autumn's Grey Solace

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 16, 2007)
• Original Release Date: July 16, 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Projekt
• ASIN: B000HLDEPK
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #215,198 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Ever mindful of the lineage they have established, Autumn's Grey Solace stays true to their musical roots while introducing a driving and aggressive intensity to some tracks on Shades Of Grey, their fourth album. The album begins with "Treasure Box," a lush combination of layered female vocal harmonies and sugar-glazed guitars, slightly evocative of the Cocteau Twins' Blue Bell Knoll period. It is the second track, "Cold Sea," which finds this duo venturing into new sonic territories. The vocals are suave and attractive while the guitars are swirly and wet and driving; this track has an intensity not heard before from the band. It's not quite "rock," but it could certainly be described as "ethereal rock!" They quickly recede into the melancholy with "Last Tear," taking shoegazing down into the sub-contra with heavily effected 7-string guitar chords and abysmally deep bass lines. Erin Welton expands her vocal stylings on this track, creating some of her most expressive vocals ever. The middle of the album progresses with beautifully crystalline compositions, including the dreampop title track, "Shades Of Grey." Near the end of the album, songs like the dreamy "Edge Of The World" and "Still" retain the soft, heavenly qualities that Autumn's Grey Solace is known for on their previous albums.

Knowing that you need a little bit of light to define the shadows, Shades Of Grey takes the shoegazer genre in new directions and beyond, showing that Autumn's Grey Solace is evolving, yet retains the characteristics that have made their music popular with fans of the ethereal, shoegazer and dreampop genres. Shades Of Grey is incredible, leaving the listener breathless.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow and then. . ., June 27, 2007

By	Justarasta (Coral Gables, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This CD has the best song I've heard for a long time. "Cold Sea" is a lush loud (and atmospheric at the same time somehow) wonderful combination of sounds and melodies with some killer solo guitar work overlaid over Erin's lovely vocals. If you have a chance to listen to it off the CD on good headphones you'll be totally amazed at what is done and the production values. I'm afraid I'm going to go deaf because it is such a rush to listen to it loud on my headphone system but I'm addicted. An absolutely killer song that by itself makes it worthwhile to buy the CD and earn it 5 stars.

The rest of the CD is good but AGS sets the bar high with "Grey Sea." Can you guys do more of that please? There are some other good songs like "Treasure Box" "Angel of Light" and "Edge of the World". There really is only one song that I consistently skip so that says much.

Erin's voice is very nice when she stays in her range. Most of the CD is in her range and is very slow generally in its tempo which works well for her and keeps most of the music in the "shoegazer" category. How Scott remains subdued in these slower songs which dominate the CD I don't know.

I'm a fan of Mira and while overall Apart is still a better CD for my tastes this is definitely a worthwhile addition to your collection.

Scott and Erin - I'm no musical expert but if you could somehow move uptempo a bit more and let Scott use those considerable guitar skills he has to go more in the direction of "Cold Sea" you guys could really set yourselves apart (pun intended) from the pack.

5.0 out of 5 stars WHAT A WONDERFUL CD., November 29, 2006

By	JADE BLACKMER "JADE" (FLORIDA) - See all my reviews

THIS CD IS SUCH A PEACEFUL BEAUTIFUL CREATIVE SOUND. ERIN'S VOICE IS ANGELICAL. SCOTT FERRELL'S SKILLFUL MUSICAL TALENT WORKS SO WELL WITH ERINS VOICE. I TOTALLY ENJOY LISTENING TO THIS CD. IT PUTS MY MIND IN A DIFFERENT PLACE, AS I TOTALLY AM ABSORBED BY THE MUSIC!!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply stunning, February 7, 2007

By	E. Anderson - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I am a new fan of Autumn's Grey Solace. A friend of mine gave me a copy of the band's last album "Riverine". I liked what I heard but there wasn't anything that stood out with me from the album. I recently acquired a copy of the band's latest cd "Shades of Grey" and I thought it was a vast improvement over "Riverine". The first thing that I noticed when I started listening to the cd was how similiar the music was akin to the Cocteau Twins and a bit of Mazzy Star. I just love the combination of jangly guitars, Erin's clear ethereal vocals, and infectious melodies. They really worked together this time, making the music more memorable than on the last album. The production is immaculate. This is how recordings should sound. Erin's vocals are as clear as glass. They are not muddled up by over production or under production quality. The music has a nice live sound. The only flaw is that the songs sounds awfully alike but I can forgive the band for that, the music is much better on this album than on their previous. One of my favorite songs has to be the title track. It is upbeat and I just love how catchy the song is. It's a nice way to wake up in the morning. I also love the playful "Fodderwing". Normally I don't like that wispy vocals a lot of female singers have a tendency to sing with but I loved it in this case. The acoustic guitars added a nice touch to the song. I hope Autumn's Grey Solace continues to make albums that are as strong and consistent as "Shades of Grey" is. This would definitely make me a diehard fan.