Harp Magazine

August/September 2003

Portland, Maine's Coming Grass are fittingly awash in the ebb and flow of lyrical and rhythmic movement, with their second release, "Transient". The Grass features at its core husband/wife duo Nate Schrock and Sara Cox, the secret weapon of the band: a stealth-siren singer. Schrock and Cox are ably aided by Steve Jones, showcased here with the dissonant melody on the catchy Richard Thompson-esque "Fix me Doctor". Ken Coomer (Wilco) and Roger Gupton (the Backsliders) throw in some right-on-the-beat juju as the band herds together muscular guitar and dead-on songmanship. With the fat bottom of Southern rock and the prettiness of folk balladry, the Coming Grass makes 70's music today. They've got the swagger of the Bush League All-stars and the sensitivity of the Cowboy Junkies, and at times-notably on the waltz-time harmonic convergence of "Firewater"- The Coming Grass display a passing kinship with another great family band, Austin's Damnations.