The 90's proved to be a defining decade for popular music, stemming from a large abundance of high profile alternative acts such as The Smashing Pumpkins and Red Hot Chili Peppers which in turn had a part in laying the foundation for other early big name indie music rockers in the 21st century such as The Strokes and Death Cab For Cutie.

With all being said and done, Grumsling seems to continue this trend with their 5 track E.P A Church, On A Boat, In The Sea.

This indie/alternative act hailing from Oakland, CA bring a cool Counting Crows-esque sound with them. It's a really mellow approach to a tried and true method of indie-rock ballads. I'm not entirely sure what the name implies, but I'm sure there's some sort of story to go along with it. The songwriting is of particular note; there's never a dull moment and it leads to each consecutive part smoothly and flawlessly, pianos fit perfectly in the songs and aren't overdone.

The stand out track on this release is definitely "Lightning" which also happens to be the longest song clocking in just over 5 minutes. A funky bass riff starts off the song along with dreamy guitars that crank a lot of reverb with some delay, a common staple effect in the indie rock genre as so it seems. The lyrics seem to point to the writer being an actual lightning bolt with lyrics such as "Can't you see me?, Can't you feel me?" - or maybe it's a metaphor for something else that the writer is trying to describe. His life? A past love? Who knows?

Overall, production on this E.P is another particular thing of note, a pitch perfect mix and levels are perfectly adjusted to really bring these tracks out to sound the way they should be.

This is a rich, raw and real release for those mellow days you just want to relax and listen to some groovy ballads.