Inheritance

Their first new music in 15 years, Gramsci deliver a transcendent new studio album Inheritance, arriving on the 20^th Anniversary of the very first Gramsci release.

It’s been a long and winding road to the completion of Inheritance, but it seems fitting that this soothing resurrection of Gramsci comes at a time when all around is chaotic. At this uncertain juncture, Inheritance offers an atmospheric and ambient place to stand still in the madness, to take stock of where one has been, and to consider where to from here. 

Led by the talented and musically prodigious NZ composer, singer and guitarist Paul McLaney, this incarnation of Gramsci is the first to feature veteran, award-winning producer Greg Haver (Manic Street Preachers, Catatonia) and gifted multi-instrumentalist Jol Mulholland (Gasoline Cowboy, Mulholland).

For McLaney, the last 15 years have been an inspirational intertwining of musical, personal, and spiritual growth and the music reflects this journey. A welcome return to the magnificence of the long-lost ‘concept album’, Inheritance delivers ten seamless tracks of majestic sonic beauty, with lyrics that speak to a deeper truth.

Through the virtuosic triumph that is Inheritance, and on a deeper level, McLaney relates it all to the many archetypes of myth and legend to which we attach our understanding of ourselves. As he sees it, “We exist in a culture of inheritance and legacy; within family, culture, artistry and philosophy. We are born into it. How do we move on from past destructive behaviours and transform our lives, to discover our life purpose? That’s really what Inheritance is about”, he says.

Second single off the album ‘Pride & Joy’ is an ode to facing your personal responsibility, to finally break the chain of inheritance. Gritty, textured guitars and primal drums intensify as McLaney’s powerful vocal urges the listener to stop ‘finding new excuses to make the same old mistakes’. Ultimately an empowering message that if you listen to your conscience and find your pride, you will find your joy.

Inheritance heralds an impressive new chapter for Gramsci which McLaney calls “the culmination of my apprenticeship”, a truly evocative album which represents the start of an epiphanic journey while illuminating the evolving musical horizons that continue to lie ahead.

INHERITANCE TRACK LISTING:

1. Inheritance
2. Achilles Heel - The idea that many of our perceived weaknesses are inherited by blood or ideology - what we perceive as wrong with ourselves doesn't match our personal ambition.
3. Tantalus – Self-deception masquerading as truth. The outro section is really the sound of surrendering to intoxication.
4. Like A Scar - The more you tell a lie the closer to your version of the truth it becomes. But fundamentally you know it's a lie and that is the scar.
5. Pride & Joy - Facing your personal responsibility. To break the chain of inheritance.
6. Icarus - Owning the person you believe yourself to be. To approach the sun even if it means you might fall from the sky. There is a bravery in that. 
7. Hitting My Stride - We are always ready to write the next chapter; to evolve and extend ourselves
8. Golden Bough - In each moment we are capable of rebirth
9. Ancient History - History is made in each moment, each thought, each action. Rights and wrongs are broken and fixed, re-framed and re-assessed as we move through time.
10. Atlas - Even when we reach the epiphany the world has already changed and chasing the next epiphany has already begun