California is known for great weather and great music, among other things, and now we can add that it is known for its new unofficial mascot; the spaceMüs. This unexpected new alt-rock act was formed through their mutual passion for making and performing music found between father, Jeremy Gorman, and his exceptionally dramatic voiced daughter Blair Gorman. Bringing on Ian Luke for the drums, this trio daringly combines covers and originals by piecing their songs together from multiple genres and music-history time-zones, effectively creating what is a truly unique sound on their latest album Glorious Grenade.
Opening with their lead single Hey, a cover of the famous song by Pixies, spaceMüs gets right to the point; Blair can sing with soul.
There is a deep punk vibe in her voice, a raspy and smoky tone mellowed out by a smooth chorus line, and an undeniable rebellious nature in her approach to singing this grungy piece. Blair attacks the microphone with low effective artistic notes that remind me of Tegan and Sara or Hayley Williams from Paramore. ‘Hey’ has a deceptively simple guitar and drum track that lets off into a catchy-as-hell chorus, which Blair dominates well.
Following in the footsteps of Hey is the very Stone Temple Pilot-Esque (Purple album) version of Led Zeppelin’s classic song Friends.
This version feels like what you would get if you combined Joan Jett with Led Zeppelin. It is a track that takes its time, like a fine wine or a poem to be found on Jim Morrison’s An American Prayer album. Friends is a song that really travels, and it welcomes the listener with open arms to come along for the ride. It showcases the beautiful harmony of vocal styles found between Jeremy and Blair, and there are moments here that touch on something truly spiritual.
Remember There’s Me is a thoughtful and sweet original single that succeeds in making the listener reflect on their own life. At this point in the new spaceMüs album, I have come to expect the unexpected, so when the clean guitar and soft vocals give way to distorted guitars, heavy drum hits, and anthemic vocals, I am right along for the ride, and I turn the volume way up! A great song that feels very aware of itself and how it manages to capture the authentic storytelling found in music heroes like Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, and John Mellencamp. I love this song. Period.
And even when I expect the unexpected, spaceMüs still throws me a curveball. Taking its cues from a different era entirely, Lovesong a cover by The Cure, that sounds like it deserves to be on a James Bond soundtrack in this iteration. It is devious, smart and beautiful, a song that showcases the band’s ability to give their songs exactly what they need. Blair offers up an ethereal performance that dances incredibly well with the other instruments. The strings are a stroke of dramatic genius that pair so well with the jazz drumming that by the end of the song you have to turn it up and hit repeat just to try and absorb what you heard a little deeper. Well, that is what I did anyway. No doubt The Cure would be proud of this reimagination of their great song.
Covering the instantly likable song Blue Mirror by Together Pangea, spaceMüs comes in with classical guitar and long low strings, and you know that it is going to be something special. Yep, there it is, the cinematic landscape that spaceMüs paints so well with their sound. Blue Mirror feels like a call to action to the listener and cathartic experience for the band. It demands that the listener pay close enough attention to ask themselves where they are at in their own lives at this point. Blue Mirror is as much grunge as it is punk as it is alt-rock, and if you like any of those genres then I fully expect you to enjoy this high-octane version of Together Pangea’s track. I am going to mention right here, and hopefully, the band will take note, but hearing Blair unleash her angsty vocals at the end of the track makes me want to hear her approach some much heavier music because I think she would absolutely dominate that field of sound.
Shelter, another original song by spaceMüs offers Jeremy a chance to showcase his own beautiful vocal style. Opening with a thoughtful piano piece, Jeremy adds an effect to his voice that transports you to the outer fringes of the Earth (and with the name spaceMüs, I am assuming that this was an intentional creative decision to reach that desired effect). Moving further into the song, Blair comes in to offer her smooth and smoky vocals, while Ian handles the drums exactly how they should be handled; delicately. Shelter feels hopeful, grateful and a bit sad, it is beautifully simple, and that is all it needs to be.
The second last track is a creative cover of the song I want you (She She’s so Heavy) from the one and only The Beatles. This gritty version belongs right in the whiskey-soaked basement of a smoke-filled blues bar. The guitar drips of sass, the drums keep a quick and aggressive tempo and the vocals are daringly sexy. It is fitting that this song was placed this late on the album as the album feels like it was building up to this moment, and I did not expect Blair to launch into that final scream. Well played spaceMüs!
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The final track Dazed and Confused is a beautiful cover of Led Zeppelin’s crushingly good song.
spaceMüs absolutely nails this track. There have been so many moments on Glorious Grenade that showcase how talented and tight this band is, but when you cover Led Zeppelin as well as this, there is simply no denying that there is something truly special here.
Looking upon this entire album there is really nothing but great musicianship here, the covers are masterfully and respectfully done for sure, but it is the original tracks that have me excited about what spaceMüs might come up with in the future. I found myself absolutely captured by the heart found in Remember There’s Me and Shelter, and I can only hope that spaceMüs have talked about creating a full album of originals because their songwriting is beautifully authentic.
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