Sens

With their recently released EP, Slide, Sens has constructed a crafty body of work, albeit short; the record spans six tracks coming in at just over thirty minutes. But it's thirty minutes packed with elastic grooves and open ended spaces, tightly filled with the fiery driven keyboard work of Gwen Grimes played to precision. Grimes splits the vocals and songwriting credits with her bandmate, Rob Chandler (guitar, bass, mandolin), and the two are kept in balance with drummer/percussionist Stu Crair, who provides the steady rhythms of Sens.

One quick listen to Slide and it becomes quite obvious that something phishy is going on here. Pardon the pun, but consider it necessary. Not to say that Sens lacks originality, in fact, at times Slide sounds unlike anything you’ve ever heard. More often than not though, the quasi comedic lyrics, layered harmonies, epic guitar solos and rollicking piano sound like outtakes left on the cutting room floor from Phish’s Lawn Boy recording sessions.

The title track starts things off strong as the EP’s best song. Grimes in particular shines, displaying obvious technical skill accompanied by an innate sense of when to overload and when to sit back and add color. The bluegrassy “Fatback Boogie” is another highlight. Chandler’s vocals are warm and easy to digest, and offer a nice contrast to the free flowing style of Grimes’ singing featured throughout Slide.

All in all, Sens should be proud that they have the ability to be compared to the current and soon to be defunct leaders of Jam. The potential is obvious; these guys (and girl!) can play! With time comes added confidence, and with confidence comes the urge to try something new. I look forward to future releases from this Columbus, Ohio group.

See senslive.com for more info.