Michael A Grammar - Michael A Grammar

An amalgamation of 2012 and 2014 EPs Vitamin Easy and Random Easy plus a few new tracks, Brighton four-piece Michael A Grammar’s absorbing debut oscillates from rakish languor to grazed-knuckle cacophony with equally refined and vociferous results.

It opens gently, with opener "Upside Down" seeming the aural equivalent of Brighton waves lapping serenely against the pier, before the urgent "All Night Afloat" cuts through the woozy psyche somnolence with a strident arpeggio stomp. It’s as glorious and widescreen as the record gets, resembling an irresistible Doves/Tame Impala coalescence.

Michael A Grammar presents a considerable progression – made unmistakably clear due to the album presenting material chronologically, with the newest material saved until last. The LP grows in stature and clarity as is goes on, which is remarkable considering how founding member and bassist Daniel Ondieki faced deportation back to his native Kenya just after the release of their first EP – a turbulent experience that would have finished less determined bands.

Expansion is evident pretty much everywhere throughout the record, but it’s vocally that we see the most development. While it’s normally verging on the insulting to say a vocalist is redolent of Ian Brown, Joel Sayers’ breathy vocals on the graceful, arcing "Light Of A Darkness" are deeply atmospheric. At times the vocals on earlier material seem to act mostly as augmentation for forceful guitar jams, but later tracks show Sayers’ delivery has the authority to lead songs too – its influence is most evident on new track "Monday", where a razor-wire vocoder single-handedly propels the tune. The “Mondays are mundane” refrain too underpins a wide-eyed and demonic track that hints at a darker side to the band’s predominantly gregarious material: an album highlight.

It’s when the album veers away from these compact sonic foundations and moves into more throw away funk territory that it’s at its weakest. The lacklustre "Nature's Child" and the stark, Josh Homme-like melodic intervals on "Suzanna" leave it sounding like QOTSA without the clout.

However, the album’s highpoints more than cancel out the negatives. Michael A Grammar comes over as much more than the latest exercise in a kitsch genre du jour - the twelve tracks present a palpable sonic development that makes the band’s next step an intriguing prospect; a remarkably encouraging and progressive debut.