Review: Alt rock band Kestrel’s single “Grey and Blue”

Kestrels

By Chyrisse Tabone, Rock At Night Tampa

Review: Kestrel’s single “Grey and Blue” from Dream or Don’t Dream-Release date July 10, 2020 via Darla Records

Halifax band Kestrels are releasing their fourth full-length album on July 10th called Dream or Don’t Dream. I have to admit, I was not familiar with the band, but they appear to have an interesting background.  Apparently songwriter and producer Chad Peck spends his days as a high school teacher when he is not recording music with the likes of Dinosaur Jr’s J. Mascis, who provided lead guitar for the new single “Grey and Blue.” In addition, the mixing was performed by John Agnello (Sonic Youth, Kurt Vile, and Cyndi Lauper) and Greg Calbi (David Bowie, Lou Reed, Television, and Blondie).  Peck definitely is backed by a powerhouse—and it shows with the engineering of “Grey and Blue.”

Listening to the new single, it definitely has a mixture of 90s alt rock but also an airy, bouncy 60s pop feel.  There’s harmonies in the mix and overall, the song is upbeat and a wee psychedelic (think Brian Jonestown Massacre).

The song “Grey and Blue” is also presented in a super cute video which features a slew of dogs, again, colorized and posterized, again, showing influences of the mod-psych era.  The song is really catchy and I especially like the fast grunge-beat drumming of Michael Catano.  Overall, listening to “Grey and Blue” makes me psyched (OK..pun intended) to hear the full album “Dream or Don’t Dream.”

Check out the video below:

The BAND:

Guitar/Bass/Vocals – Chad Peck
Drums – Michael Catano
Lead Guitar on “Grey and Blue” – J Mascis
Additional Vocals on “Grey and Blue”, “It’s a Secret”, & “Everything is New” – Norma MacDonald

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Chyrisse Tabone, Ph.D.
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