Sebastien Grainger knows the language of rock music very well, and that’s not just because of his speaker-shredding work with the now-defunct DFA 1979. Like any good boy with a guitar, he shrieks and riffs his way through Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains, his first solo full-length, set for release October 21, and it’s refreshing to know an artist can easily switch from angry dance-punker to heartfelt songwriter. It really does feel like Grainger means every single word he sings and note he plays, as evidenced by this track, which Saddle Creek was kind of enough to leak before the full album drops in a few days. Jennifer Marston. Photo by Eva Michon.

Sebastien Grainger – American Names