Album Review

Israel Nash Gripka – Rain Plans

• 30th Sep 2013

American singer songwriter Israel Nash Gripka returns with his third studio album, Rain Plans, his first new music for three years. Now living in the small city of Dripping Springs, deep in Texas hill country, his nine new songs reflect the isolation of the remote landscape and the fragility of life. Nash’s rich Americana sound is based on some fine guitar playing, taking country and blues influences, and his mellow yet powerful vocals are slow and evocative.

This is a rich and complex album, full of warm sonic soundscapes created with multiple layers of guitars and vocals. It’s hard not to mention Neil Young as the influence is so clear, but although Nash’s music, and indeed his vocals, sound a little like the Canadian superstar at times, this is very much his own work and he produced the album himself too.

The epic title track Rain Plans is quite beautiful, a massive sprawling song that rises and falls, its warm feel and great harmony vocals punctuated by lovely guitar work. At over seven minutes long there are many distinct parts to the track, and it doesn’t drag at all. Instead, Nash uses all of the song to good effect and the end result is superb.

There are several other very good tracks on the album too. Opener Woman At The Well is a melodic slice of American rock music, the emotional lyrics sung in Nash’s sometimes languid style with real passion. The slower Just Like Water has a similar feel, a river metaphor used for the flow of time. Who In Time is slow and textured, a song that has broad scope and sweeps ahead, again featuring some very nice guitar work.

Myer Canyon starts off as perhaps the most country sounding track on the album, the vocals higher on a song about the permanence of landscape contrasting with the temporary nature of life. But it takes a turn into rock territory with a very strong ending. Iron Of The Mountain has an intricate acoustic guitar introduction before a warm organ sound provides another tapestry for Nash to lay his guitar and vocals over. Closing track Rex Animarum is also strong, the steel guitar work contrasting with Nash’s multi layered vocals nicely.

This is a lovely album from Israel Nash Gripka. High quality songwriting is matched with superb performance to produce an album that is atmospheric and cinematic in its broad scope. The songs create vivid images and evoke feelings of loneliness and isolation, yet there are also moments of solace and warmth too. The complexity of the music is well managed and the end result is a very good album.

Venue: Rain Plans
Support Band: Loose Music