Gray Beast

Reviews:



Music Emissions:



"On a foundation of electronica and moody, Modest Mouse-esque indie rock, Gray Beast build up atmosphere with breezy R&B grooves and jazzy texturing. The album seems to go by all too fast, and every song offers it's fair share of flair, moody bliss and darker themes. Mature, expressive and progressive without saying so, Gray Beast are a force to be reckoned with."



~Kevin Sellers

Read Full Review



Pitch Perfect:



"Coulf Half Strom and Shoulda Dropped Out stand out as the album’s strongest efforts. The former is a very electronically effected number with space-aged keys and great ambient bee-bee-beeps and wa-wa-wahs. The latter is pretty enough to have been recorded for a Sean Lennon disk: patient, lyrics that begets longing and a soul-shattering melody. The solo vocal parts are only outshined by amazing harmonies (i.e. “December 5th 2005?), and the meandering shoe-gazing curves are highlighted by the occasional hairpin turn - inspiring dreams that are simultaneously comforting and dangerous."



~ Rachel Heisler



Read Full Review



The Alibi:



"What they assembled is a synth-rock fusion of electronic noise, soul, R&B and ’80s pop. The Album is playful and well produced, full of quintessential teen angst and raw human emotion on the softcore side of rock. Gray Beast's album better be the first of many."



~ Amy Dalness



Read Full Review



Exitfare:



"It's electronica that matches the climates where they orginate. The mood is dour, but with a bit of searching, you'll find that it's not all doom and gloom. There's a party brewing just beneath the surface."



Read Full Review



Music of the Moment:



"It fits perfectly into this time of year when people seem to always be in a hurry, and therefore need something to bring them down to earth again by the end of the day. The sound of Gray Beast really serves that purpose."



Read Full Review



Veritas Lux Mea:



"Gray Beast is composed of lifelong friends Lucas Spider and Boyd Reno, whose minimalist electronic sound on The Album That Killed Its Parents provides a perfect organic blend for that misty morning drive."



Read Full Review



Confessions of a Music Addict:



"I'm thinking that this music will come in handy for 'chill out' time. I'm thinking wine. I'm thinking a big furry rug. And finally, I'm thinking a fireplace."



Order:



Order from CDBaby.com for $8.99!



Download:



Retail:



Seattle:



Easy Street Records - Queen Anne



Easy Street Records - West Seattle



Sonic Boom Records - Capitol Hill



Sonic Boom Records - Fremont



Sonic Boom Records - Ballard



Everyday Music



Albuquerque:



Owl Green's Music



Natural Sound



Bio:



Gray Beast is the current musical expression of lifelong friends Lucas Spider and Boyd Reno. Lucas and Boyd met as young children in church where they enthusiastically

performed Beatles songs a cappella before the congregation. Their first formal musical experience would come years later with the formation of Albuquerque indie

rock band Oh, Ranger! Between '00-'03 they released three LPs as the flagship band for Socyermom Records, Albuquerque’s most notorious label. Oh, Ranger! quickly established

themselves as a staple of the southwest music scene through extensive touring and often scandalous live performances. When Oh, Ranger! dissolved in 2003, Boyd moved to

Seattle and continued work on his increasingly popular solo project Boyd Reno is John Center. Meanwhile, Lucas joined Your Name In Lights, a progressive rock band that went on to

play dates with the Warped Tour and at SXSW. When Lucas left YNIL and moved to Seattle in 2005, it was a forgone conclusion that Lucas and Boyd would play together again, but

what direction would they take?



In the Spring of 2006, Boyd approached Lucas with the idea of an album tentatively titled The Album That Killed Its Parents. The album was to be heavily electronic and melancholic.

Boyd knew he could use Lucas’s expertise with keyboards and digital sounds and Lucas was eager to join up with his old friend again. The truth was, Boyd and Lucas both ended up

getting more than they bargained for. The sound that developed was something more than electronic. It had hints of soul and eighties pop and frequent artistic references to modern

R&B. Lucas and Boyd wrote and recorded the album together over the course of a year and a half. They kept The Album That Killed Its Parents as the title of their record and named

the project Gray Beast, a reference to Lucas’s dream about “ambiguous, aggressive, and capitalistic beings of some organic nature.” When they were finished with the record they knew

they had something different and very special.