Grand Hotel

After putting his massively underappreciated band Cosades to bed too soon, Kyle Gervais was done with music. He planned to go to school and work and not allow the promise of making successful music waste any more of his time. It didn’t take long for Gervais to dump those foolish safety plans and get back to what he was born to do in this world: front a band. All-ages favorites Alias Grace were over before they really got started. The band's CD release show was their last show, and it was even billed that way. Their CDs were not sold, but given away at that show. Unlike Gervais, members of Alias Grace had plans to move onward immediately after the demise of their band. Three members, Glen Capen, Jason Elvin and Aaron Lachance, stayed a tight unit and eventually opened the door for Gervais to come and jam and see if they all could put together a band that would exist after their CD release show. So far, so good. Their release show has happened and they’re still in one piece. Grand Hotel’s self-titled debut is a solid start. Indie pop rock numbers for those who want to dance a little. Just as the record starts to feel cool and tricky it quickly lays you out on a groove to keep things from getting too stuffy. The Franz Ferdinand-ish “Visual” goes from sneaky to all out butt swaying and you won’t even notice 'cause you’re floating on one of the bounciest bass lines of the year. The great thing about Grand Hotel is in songs like “Visual,” where Kyle Gervais’ pop music love gets to shine through unlike ever before. The rest of the band back it up so well, too. Gervais has a one-take style of vocals that keeps the feel real every time and it continues with Grand Hotel. I don’t know the exact age of all of the members of Grand Hotel, but my guess is they probably aren’t old enough to be making music this mature. They’re younger cats who luckily don’t have to worry about being stuck in the all-ages circuit. They can play to rooms with or without bars. Regardless, I would dare anyone in either room to stand still for an entire set. This self-titled record is infectious and the beginning of something really cool in local music.