(Photo by Catie Porretta)
BIO
Psychedelic art rock band The Grasping Straws has been consistently performing in and around New York City since 2012. The band’s founder, Mallory, has since gone on to tour Europe, Canada, and the US with an array of musicians and collaborators to support the release of the band’s debut album."Frontwoman Mallory Feuer blends an otherwordly, raw, bluesy edge with the fearlessness of pre-meltdown Courtney Love, both vocally and guitarwise, instantly putting this group on the map as one of New York’s most distinctive, individualistic, exciting new bands." (New York Music Daily)
"The Grasping Straws drifted into slow, drum-marched songs that, particularly with frontwoman Mallory Feuer's drawn-out and bluesy vocals, recalled the lo-fi glory of early Cat Power. Taking their time rather than rushing towards easy shock, these tracks intrigued with their very patience and calm and, perhaps most importantly, were ultimately moving, their tumbling quality enabling the audience to both engage and reflect." (The Deli Magazine)
PRESS
Alt77- "Their single Help features plenty of trad rock instrumentation, but also the inventiveness, quirkiness, and frantic, disorientation techniques best observed on some of Bjork’s own early records. "
- "Mit einer Stimme die sowohl an Björk als auch an Courtney Love erinnert und einem grimmigen Alternative-Rock-Sound zwischen PJ Harvey, Sonic Youth und Nirvana stürmt die US-Band The Grasping Straws in ihrem Song "Help" voran. Das Video dazu ist ebenfalls sehenswert, kommt im VHS-Stil daher und wurde von der Performance-Künstlerin Erica Schreiner in Szene gesetzt."
- “Help” by The Grasping Straws is an anxious and psychedelic piece of chaos that features thrashing drums and intense performances.
- "Un punkeo frenético que estalla de inmediato con redobles de batería que te harán sentir que surfeas olas titánicas. El paralelismo a la música surf se ve tanto en los ritmos como en los riffs que tienen su cualidad abrasiva y electrizante, pero permaneciendo bailable a la vez. El bajo es rudo, sucio y lleno de proteína, mientras que los fraseos de la guitarra principal evocan las texturas armónicas de las épocas iniciales de The Cure o Siouxie and the Banshees. La voz tiene la presencia, convicción y registro de una PJ Harvey con letras que tratan sobre adicción y la estigmatización que lleva a muchos a renunciar el ser ayudados."
- "A perfect blend of Garage and Psychedelic Rock, the band once again showcases their songwriting here."
- A Chilling Lockdown Halloween Song From the Grasping Straws
- The Grasping Straws Bring Their Feral Intensity to Bushwick Friday Night
- The Grasping Straws Set the Mercury Lounge on Fire
- The Grasping Straws Release Their Savagely Intense, Tuneful New Album at the Mercury
- "the Straws are great at creating beauty from confusion and contradiction. The music is grungy rock, except when it’s jazzy folk. The lyrics are strong, heavy, and firm, yet fragile, subtle, and unstable. The stories are clear and literal, but mysterious and open-ended. It’s sure to leave any listener grasping at Straws." - Cannonball Statman
MUSIC VIDEO BY ERICA SCHREINER
MUSIC VIDEO BY PRESTON SPURLOCK AND JULIA JURGILEWICZ
ACTIVE BAND MEMBERS
Mallory Feuer (vocals, guitar, songwriter)
Seth Benjamin (guitar)
Sam Goldfine (bass)
Jim Bloom (drums/percussion)
Henry Buchanan-Vaughn (drums/percussion)
Brent Cole (drums/percussion)
Live show at De Audio Plant - Antwerp, Belgium in 2017 (Edwin and Mallory pictured, photo by Kwark Freitveld)