Philadelphia alt-rock band Grayscale has announced its third full-length album, “Umbra,” the follow up to 2019’s “Nella Vita” and 2017’s debut “Adornment.” The album finds the band – Collin Walsh (lead vocals), Andrew Kyne (guitar), Nick Ventimiglia (bass), Dallas Molster (guitar), and Nick Veno (drums) – not reborn, but refined as they truly came into their sound.
Their story: Five best friends got together and started a band. They took intimate urban stories of broken hearts, bad drugs, blissful sex, and busted dreams and turned them into one alternative rock cult favorite after another. Then, they crossed into the next dimension with a bold depiction of the big sound they’d always hinted at uplifted on a high of gospel harmonies, horn solos, and the kind of lyrics you get tattooed in places you want people to see (and places you don’t want people to see).
“This band is how we express ourselves,” Walsh said. “I come from an old-school Irish family that didn’t talk about feelings. This band means so much to me, because I’ve been best friends with these guys since I was 13 years old. We’ve known each other for 60 percent of our lives at this point. These are real stories. We love what we do. It’s why we’re alive.
“In a celestial sense, ‘Umbra’ is the area of complete darkness in an eclipse. It’s a shadowy interior that would otherwise be surrounded by light. The sound of the record is pop rock on the outside, but when you listen to what I’m saying, the stories on the inner core are sexual, vindictive, and wicked. That’s the concept. It reflects the authenticity of who we are as an East Coast rock band. We’re not trying to be anything other than exactly what we are.”
PW recently caught up with Walsh to talk about the new music and the band.
You guys have been together since you were teenagers. How has the band and your music evolved over the years? Why do you think you’ve been able to achieve so much success?
We’ve evolved quite a bit since the start and are still evolving. While we are so grateful for the success we’ve had thus far, we are still growing as human beings and as musicians; in many ways we feel like we’re just getting started.
Talk a little about the Philly music scene. Has being from this city impacted your music? Are there any local artists who’ve influenced your sound?
While I can’t pinpoint a specific artist that has influenced us, I can say with certainty that the art, history, and attitude of Philly are all elements that have shaped us as people and as musicians over the years. We are so proud to be a part of the Philadelphia community; we want to make our city proud.
Talk a little about “Umbra.” How did it come together? How is it different from your first two albums?
“Umbra” is our third full-length record, and our favorite record of our career so far. We have pretty much been working on it since the release of our previous record, “Nella Vita.” While the same five band members were behind the creation of the record, the producer, approach, and considerations were totally different. We made Umbra with our dear friend Courtney Ballard, an LA-based producer. Together, we focused on truly finding the sound that we wanted more so than any record we had done in the past. With an increased confidence and acumin under our belts, we felt that, for the first time, we have really found the path we are meant to be on sonically, pulling all the influences that we love and that make up Grayscale in its truest form. We have a wonderful team of people around us that we cannot thank enough.
How can people get the album?
“Umbra” is available worldwide on pretty much every internet/streaming platform you can think of. You can get it directly from us, along with learning more about the record and the band on our website, grayscalepa.com.
What’s ahead for you? Back in the studio? Any live shows coming up?
Tour, baby. We’re going to be all over the U.S. for the rest of the summer, and then again on the Umbra Tour (our headlining tour) this fall. Those tickets actually just went on sale, you can get them at grayscalepa.com as well!
What are the best ways for your fans to stay current with what you’re doing?
So many good ways to keep in touch with us. Follow us on socials at @grayscalepa or text us anytime at 215-4361-3693.
