The Grand Elegance play keyboard-laden rock music that has only gained in popularity in the last couple of years. Bands from all over the indie spectrum -- The Locust, Murder City Devils, and the Faint to name a few -- seem to be employing it to great effect. So it is little surprise that many young bands cop this style. Most don't do a very good job, but a few, including the Grand Elegance, do.

This self-titled EP consists of five songs that fall somewhere between the Murder City Devils and Song of Zarathustra. That is to say, they are less hardcore than Song of Zarathustra but have SoZ's gothic-punk keyboard overtones. They are less rock-n-roll than the Murder City Devils, but they have a bit more rock atmosphere to them than punk. There's also a strong influence of dark and moody pop from the last two decades -- Algebra Suicide and Sonic Youth are easily called to mind.

This EP is quite a good introduction to The Grand Elegance. In a genre laden with cliches and stereotypes, they're slowly carving out their own unique niche.

taken from adkg.com