Four Places In Queensland
Neuma, 2021
8/10
Listen to Four Places In Queensland
An Australian-American composer/pianist who is half of the Clocked Out Duo, Erik Griswold takes on a very creative journey here, where four works, four places, and four different performers populate the diverse and highly artistic recording.
“Mt. Nebo”, performed by Anna Grinberg, starts the listen with 4 chapters, as skilled and unpredictable keys unfold in mysterious, even haunting ways, where playfulness and beauty meet at a very exciting intersection that suits the dense rainforest of the town the track is named after, and “Cunningham’s Gap” follows and glides gently, with no shortage of melody in the waltz, very firm and gentle delivery from Stephen Emmerson.
The back half of the listen offers the only single chapter tune, “Condamine”, where 14 minutes of strategic and almost sci-fi piano sounds are illuminated with a cinematic appeal thanks to Griswold’s skills, while “Girraween” exits the listen in 3 segments that range from intricate finger acrobatics to moments of loud rumbling keys that finish the effort on a very exciting, even fascinating, stand out performance.
Griswold spent time in each setting that these songs were named after, absorbing the ambience of each environment, and this firsthand experience with the landscapes, combined with his tailoring each composition to the respective performer’s strengths, results in a very lush and expressive peek into the Australian terrain that will likely make you want to see these sights for yourself.
Travels well with: James Caldwell- Pocket Things; Robert Moran- Buddha Goes Back To Bayreuth