Grayson Gilmour: Infinite Life - review

Grayson Gilmour’s 2010 release, No Constellation, was one of the finest albums out of Wellington that year. Heck, it was one of the finest albums out of anywhere, and seemingly, the sign of a new direction for the then newly revived Flying Nun label. Its somewhat austere art-pop is nowhere to be found on the follow up, Infinite Life, which holds on for dear life to the art and pop bit, but turns the echo button on his musical structures.

Gilmour’s sense of the little things that matter in music make most of his contemporaries sound like amateurs, and Infinite Life is jam-packed with tiny musical incidents that make it a journey of discovery over multiple listening sessions. Clearly, the poor boy has suffered the pain wrought by la femme, but his response, musically and lyrically, is a world away from conventional “pity me” confessional song writing.

With lyrics like “I would pull all the stitches out” (for you) and “all I am is blood and bone”, and music that swivels around its moorings until it makes you dizzy, Gilmour’s latest is a doozy.