The Graboids have been around in some form or another since 2000, when guitarist Stuart Watson and his drummer brother Matthew hooked up with guitarist Andrew Glover for high school talent nights and impromptu jams in Charlottesville, Virginia. Although they scattered geographically, they maintained contact and periodically got together to play, eventually coalescing around the instrumental ambient/space rock vibe that they display on their debut full length, Infinite Delay. Along with recent bass addition Jim Hale, the Graboids craft a swirling post rock hybrid that traverses the gulf between Brian Eno’s looping ambient quietude and Hawkwind’s psychedelic space metal, coming together in a wordless ambient/prog/shoegazing miasma of lilting contentment and chaotic fury. The album’s one oddity is the space rock/hip hop/post rock mutation “Top of the Network”, with British rhymer Jeremiah on the mic giving Bush and Blair a jolly good (if somewhat by the numbers) spanking while the Graboids provide a slinky undertone. It’s a jarring and puzzling break from the band’s proceedings, particularly given the serene and frenetic soundscapes that bookend it. Beyond that single hip hop hiccup, the Graboids’ effects-drenched space rock is an engaging and mesmerizing experience.
~ Brian Baker
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