Some records are candy to the ears. Some records simply get lost in the wind and some records burn with their own intensity and purpose and “Grace” by Baby Fire is one such album. Don’t get me wrong. This isn’t the kind of album that grabs you on the first listen but – and this is true of so many albums that are drawn towards the poetic pretensions of the arthouse – perseverance rapidly changes your perceptions.
I know little of this Belgian band yet, if they can invite the likes of the legendary G.W. Sok and Laetitia Shériff along to their party, then they must be well connected. This album is one that paints a picture of the shadows in the soul and, driven by the often simultaneously oblique and obvious lyrics of Dominique Van Cappellen-Waldock, takes us on a musical journey of torment, pounding rhythms, power chords and brooding desire.
So, “Grace” is definitely not an album that would ever be classed as easy listening but, in its ultraviolet melancholy, it nonetheless makes an indelible impression. It’s a daughter of darkness thing.
Best song: “Prayer” for its shadowy religious undertones.