Grain: We’ll Hide Away: Complete Recordings 1993-1995

Personally, bands from what could be considered culturally starved or slightly less exotic metropolises have always been the ones I’ve gravitated towards.

Growing up in a small town with little to no artistic cultural relevance, there’s something within the brain chemistry that aligns closely with bands that hail from similar landscapes. Grain is another that falls into this category.

At the first time of hearing Grain (admittedly, they passed me by for many years), similar with all high-watermarks, it was like electricity running through my veins. That raw, burning intensity of band truly reaching for the stars, but not in a showy way – there was an urgency to their music that felt like the most important thing in your orbit at that specific time and place. In fact, it was the only thing.

Northeast Ohio has always been fertile ground for punk and hardcore, with the likes of Pere Ubu, Devo, The Cramps and Rocket From the Tombs all emerging from the area (of course, we all know the indelible mark these artists have left since).

The mid-’90s saw a shift, with the gnarl and fuzz of grunge and post-hardcore causing an upsurge within the underground all across the United States. And operating within the fissures of it, what Grain delivered was instantly bruising and searingly dynamic.‍

Originally formed in 1993 as a three-piece in Cleveland after the break-up of three previous bands, vocalist/guitarist Brian Strazek (Arm’s Length), bassist Dean Eshleman (Blatant Disregard), and drummer Jason Kuebler (Windpipe) unearthed Grain before drafting in vocalist Ryan Rinella (Stated of Mind) and second guitarist, Brian Noga.

‍The band released two 7”s, a split 7” with Harriet The Spy, and three songs that appeared on a different compilation LPs. During their two-year period of activity, Grain played alongside the likes of Lincoln, Kerosene 454 and, most notably, Archers of Loaf.

Disbanding in 1995, little has been said of the band until the aptly titled compilation released earlier this year that documents the Grain story: We’ll Hide Away: Complete Recordings 1993​-​1995.

One of the roughest diamonds unearthed from any scene of the ’90s, Grain delivered post-hardcore with tracker-bullet speed. Denoting that burning intensity of their rust belt youth with flagrant disregard for anything around them, Grain’s mission statement was to play fast, anthemic and leave their own stain on history. Take Jay, a song that would almost outflank some of Squirrel Bait’s most intense moments.

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With the benefit of hindsight, Grain perhaps stumbled across of the ideas that dominated Unwound’s self-titled debut; an album which was recorded in 1989 but didn’t see the light of day until seven years later. Oddly enough, it made Grain’s charring interpretation of punk and post-hardcore ahead of the curve.

Compilations are sometimes met with derision in this day and age, however sometimes it’s the only way to piece together an artist’s story; particularly one that few have heard, and We’ll Hide Away: Complete Recordings 1993-1995 sees Grain through a new lens. A seamless disarray, capturing that lightening in a bottle from one of the most under the radar acts from the ’90s post-hardcore pantheon.

While these songs were recorded and released at different periods throughout the band’s short reign, it’s surprising how coherent this compilation is. Stating with Intro / Homestead, which opens the curtains into Grain’s gritty world, and from here things move along at equally blinding speed.

Nibble is next – an athematic, heaving wall of sound akin to Fugazi going toe-to-toe with Bitch Magnet (“I’m falling, falling, falling, falling apart”). And speaking of, the vulgar menace of Jim Thorpe sees Grain putting the hammer down with blood curdling choruses one would associate with, oddly enough, alternative metal luminaries (“These stars stole your soul”).

The fizz and bang of Pause echoes Squirrel Bait’s Rose Island Road and even the rollicking moments of another unsung hero, Bastro. Rinella’s vocals, delivered with the kind of precision enhanced by a rush of adrenaline.

With meandering build-ups and an intimacy previously unheard, Spring Boy is a cut most certainly inspired by Slint’s Washer (with a not-so-subtle nod as the protagonist proceeds to, indeed, “wash his hands”).

Meanwhile, Trout is unhinged Fugazi reverence slammed to tape. Grain emits their own flavour of post-hardcore glory here, lyrically adopting a far more inward approach (“It’s bringing me to my knees / And I don’t want to hurt anymore / Being far too long / Forget what I’m running for”). If ever there was a gateway song into the world of Grain then Trout is it.

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The band rips through with gale-force ferocity on Hickory and Anthem (the latter of which is one of four previously unreleased tracks). Here we find ourselves at the compilation’s core, showcasing Grain’s enthralling pivots and a salvo of raw noise that is like screaming across razor wire.

With a message of “We’ll hide away / We’ll stay the same”, it reveals the band’s youthful innocence. Again, that frozen time, but this time from an artist’s perspective. A wish to stay locked in a time capsule where there’s a nagging thought that life won’t ever reach the same heights.

It’s an interesting take, and through that same seam of a young energy, so many emo and post-hardcore artists have tried to catch the same intensity in the years that followed; few have managed to harness it like Grain; a band who largely had very little concern for the consequences. It was never mapped out, and that is the true essence of raw expression.

Void is another example of that, drawing from all the best bits of Grain, and while The Thrills of a Race Car Driver is perhaps the band’s most well-known song (“Take the bullet out and watch it fly”), filled with all the thrust of a poisoned knife to the heart, Breathe is the moment where we see this band atop of their creative arc. Circle pit madness that is complete sensory overload. That binary pulse between band and listener that opens the world to infinite possibilities.

And essentially that’s what We’ll Hide Away: Complete Recordings 1993​-​1995 reveals. Not only does it reaffirm that the compilation format still has its place, but it’s a presentation that is tailormade for bands like Grain. The ultimate landing spot for both those who were at the coalface of one of the most thriving underground scenes of the last 30 years, and also for new listeners aiming to piece together vital parts of it. For those ill-equipped to deal with a new world that moves so fast and revels in so much mediocrity on all levels, releases like this and bands like Grain re-energise certain parts of us all.

We’ll Hide Away: Complete Recordings 1993​-​1995 Solid Brass Records. Purchase from Bandcamp.