Introducing... Grand Cousin - musings from boston

Here’s some pretty psychedelic indie pop exuberance to propel you into your spring (though at 47 degrees, I can’t say I’m quite there yet). Grand Cousin hails from New York and Connecticut, where they attend Wesleyan University. Yes, they’re young, but they’re already jaded and cynical. Good job, boys. Their most recent singles are “Let Me Know” and “Camera,” they’ve opened for Twin Shadow and Wild Flag and they’ve been featured in Huff Post. This is a tight 3-piece machine with driving percussion and some stunning percolating and ringing guitar who describe themselves thusly: “A fledgling Buddhist, an Upper-East-Sider-Gone-Rogue, and the sensitive son of a sitcom legend.” That would be Robbby Caplan on bass, Evan Low on drums and Henry Hall (son of Julia Louis Dreyfus) on guitar and vocals. They’ll be releasing their debut EP this spring.

“I don’t trust you as far as I can throw you
that’s why I’m gonna put a camera in your room.”
– Camera

Typically I don’t much care for straight falsetto singing, but Henry’s vocals are so damaged and twisted as to be completely endearing, so I’ll let him slide. He really takes off and flies to some curious places. Henry credits his lyrical inspiration as “insecurity, euphoria, anxiety and nostalgia.” Their 4-song demo, released two years ago, has tracks entitled “I Hate People” and “I Wanna Know You.” Clearly this band has some issues, so check them out when you can and give them all a big hug.

[They’ll be performing in Hamden, Connecticut at The Space on April 10.]