Blade of Grass

First Impression Artist: BLADE OF GRASS

We take a little psychedelic trip this week for our First Impression artist and meet the West Coast three-piece band Blade Of Grass. They just released a new EP called Eyes Like Diamonds that combines a love for electronic music with an almost shoegaze rock sensibility. They harness their songs with just enough of an experimental lean, in turn making this a very exciting collection. - WXPN

Introducing Blade of Grass; press photo courtesy of the band.

El Sereno, California’s Blade of Grass just released their Eyes Like Diamonds EP today and we bring you an exclusive preface & stream. Specializing in what the trio refer to as “west coast electronic space rock;” Blade of Grass operate within the pop atmosphere in manners of fusion where switched-on & plugged-in nuances brings the galaxy a little close to the grains of dirt & sand found here on the surface of planet Earth.

Eyes Like Diamonds is an EP that is built around the motif of attempting to encapsulate the sparkling & twinkling aspects of light into proverbial bottle vessels of sound. “Light in My Eyes” compress the consortium of sound & vision in a restrained dub-pop anthem ready for the festival stages, as “Skydream” fires off dreams into the stratosphere where tomorrow never knows, right before laying you to bed in the rock garden pastures of sanctuary & paradise found on “Sleep With Stones”. Blade of Grass provided us with the following insightful preface to springboard you head first into their new EP:

Our new EP Eyes Like Diamonds is a reflection of the turbulent times that we live in. Since Amos Przekaza joined us on drums, our music has thumped with more urgency and his beats are the perfect foundation on which to layer surging psychedelic sounds. Josh’s simple but infectious vocal melodies are woven in and he sings about isolation, desire, and even unidentified life forms.

Living in Los Angeles, we are constantly reminded of the current political climate and how it affects so many who are experiencing social injustice. This turbulence has definitely influenced our music, which occasionally takes dark turns into chaos. It is a cathartic release for us to perform this music live. - Impose Magazine

Sometimes the best things in life are those that are unexpected. One thing most people don’t expect is to encounter a space rock band from a Hispanic neighborhood from Los Angeles. Unbelievably, such a band does, in fact, exist and its name is Blade of Grass. They have dubbed their style of music “West Coast electronic space rock.” As long as it’s good (which it is), it doesn’t matter what they call it. It’s displayed to the fullest on the group’s new EP, Eyes Like Diamonds.

Blade of Grass formed in 2010 in the El Sereno neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The band originally consisted of guitarist/producer Mike Hurst and vocalist/bassist Josh Murphy. In 2014, they released their debut EP She Was. The following year, they released their second EP Skydream. After its release, Blade of Grass went from a duo to a trio with the addition of drummer Amos Przekaza. Now, with their revamped lineup, the group takes their spacey sounds to another dimension on Eyes Like Diamonds, released on August 5.

Blade of Grass Stupefies Listeners With Electronic Space Rock
The opening track “Light in My Eyes” is simply kaleidoscopic. Warbling synths cut across a wiry rhythm formed from rolling bass riffs and steady drums and cymbal taps. Zipping alongside them are clicking synth riffs and striding, fuzz-filled guitar riffs. In addition, they’re showered with loads of sonorous reverb. When combined with soulful, soaring vocals from Murphy, they give the song a quirky, atmospheric mood. This menagerie of ethereal noise concludes with a dispersive fade-out after a brisk series of electronic pulses. - Indie Band Guru

“The song ‘Skydream’ came together during the first time we met Amos our new drummer. He laid down a dancehall beat and then I programmed a looping dub bass line that Josh started singing over. As you can hear, Josh’s voice has a tone of urgency and desire in ‘Skydream.’

“Mike layered on some synth sounds using his Korg and Arturia synths and the song fell into place over the course of the next couple of hours of sonic exploration.” - Huffington Post