Song of the Week: "Burden Of Hope"

From now on, (just about) every Sunday night will be song-of-the-week night. Each post will be a chance for me to throw out a single track (usually) that has been either meaningful to me over the years, or it may be a new standout that perks up my ears whenever it come out of the ol' speakers. I may once in a while take a bit of license in the type of music posted, so you never know what you might find here...

The first SOTW is the title track to Grail's album, "The Burden of Hope." The reason for posting?: It's absolutely gorgeous! Grails is known for blending ingredients from classic rock, "post rock," and different types of folk from around the world into a very ambient, unpredictable, and unique sonic delicacy. In "Burden of Hope," the band drops much of its usual subtlety and performs a heart wrenching, crescendoing drama that could be the story of lost soul overcoming despair, the first blades of grass rising through the thawing earth, or simply our daily battle of getting out of bed in the morning (if you can get your alarm clock to play this, imagine how triumphant your mornings would be!). All the musicians are awesome, but it's hard not to follow the drummer as he leads the composition with a bubbling sense of angst below the song's surface, then crashing violently to the climactic point, and finally lulling us into a transcendent calm. All this is done in a mere four minutes. I've experienced these four minutes countless times now, and each listen is as chilling and mind-blowing as the first.

Listen