Nana Grizol - “Future Vision”

SXSW 2022 - OEB Score: 8; Popularity Index: 5

Pairs Well With…Apples in Stereo, The Hold Steady, Cake

Athens’ Nana Grizol is about to enter its twentieth year as a band, an offshoot of Elephant 6 family and an act that continues that collective’s lo fi, power pop spirit on their fifth full-length, 2020’s South Somewhere Else. A few things stand out beyond the band’s tight, garage-pop songwriting, notably great use of horns that take the band’s sound into either percussive ska territory or into royal, anthemic arcs. The horn melodies have a way of turning melancholy indie rock into blooming, punk canticles. Reliable and mature, Nana Grizol’s music still has a loose presentation, but there’s some pop control that makes their songs that much more memorable. There’s a spirit of hope here that comes through in both Nana Grizol’s melodies that play in juxtaposition to their lyrics, a hungry sound impressive given their decades performing together. Nana Grizol showcases Thursday night at Creek and the Cave Backyard for Don Giovanni Records, a set that happens to follow fellow recommended act Bad Bad Hats. (Kevin McStravick)