absolute Grey live
cbgb’s 1985
“Beth Brown’s vocals are so filled with emotion they are teetering on the edge of chaos. She puts all of herself into it…the band create this great ‘new wave folk rock’ whatsis with no real idea of where the hell it’s going to go. They just slap it out, and man, it just works so great.”
— Byron Coley, Forced Exposure
Album Available on June 12, 2026
about the band
Absolute Grey was a Rochester, New York band that emerged from the early 1980s underground punk/new wave scene. Featuring Beth Brown on vocals, Mitchell Rasor on bass, Pat Thomas on drums, and Matt Kitchen on guitar, the band forged a singular sound that critics have likened to early R.E.M. with female vocals — blending Fairport Convention and Jefferson Airplane with Echo & the Bunnymen.
During their run, they shared stages with the Rain Parade, Salem 66, Dream Syndicate, Alex Chilton, Long Ryders, and Three O'Clock — holding their own against the best of the paisley underground and jangle-pop scenes without ever fitting neatly into either.
This album captures 10 previously unreleased live recordings from their celebrated run at CBGB's in 1985 — a document of a band at their vital peak, with liner notes by Karen Schoemer, Jim DeRogatis, and Luke Wood.
Heyday Again Records / Hey-107 CD · Available via Redeye Distribution
PRESS
TROUSER PRESS RECORD GUIDE
“Long before self-reflective female singers became the hip trend on the alternative music scene, Beth Brown of Rochester, NY's Absolute Grey was writing and singing about loneliness and the challenge of independence — a garage-pop approach, the bass carrying most of the melody and the guitar adding color with Peter Buck-like arpeggios.”
ALL MUSIC GUIDE
“Absolute Grey was playing intelligent, tuneful folk-rock with intriguing melodies, subtle but effective hooks, and a psychedelic undertow that would have allowed them to fit right in with the paisley underground bands blossoming on the West Coast or the jangle pop armies gathering in Athens, GA - their approach was a bit less trippy and significantly less retro than such paisley underground stalwarts as the Rain Parade while the band's tone was notably cooler and more hard-edged than what R.E.M or Pylon brought to the table.”
FORCED EXPOSURE
“Absolute Grey created a wonderful sound, one that has never been imitated by anyone. You can hear traces of bands that came later, sounds that evolved after the next generation had digested stacks of obscure records, but you always get the sense that Absolute Grey arrived at their sound through epiphany rather than scholarship. Beth Brown’s vocals are so filled with emotion they are teetering on the edge of chaos. She puts all of herself into it…the band create this great ‘new wave folk rock’ whatsis with no real idea of where the hell it’s going to go. They just slap it out, and man, it just works so great.”
- BYRON COLEY
