Belle and Chain Bring Gothic Americana Into Focus
Led by a voice some may recognize, the duo arrive with a fully formed sound and a clear sense of direction.
By Sydney Eliot
Photos by Oksana Savinova
- Published on
But Grammer only found her voice in music recently, after learning to play guitar as part of her physical therapy following a traumatic incident. Speaking to RANGE the night of their sold-out April 18 show at Adelaide Hall in Toronto, Grammer and bandmate Davis IL discuss how Belle and Chain came to be.
“In 2020 I got stabbed. I couldn’t use my right hand and had to do rehab,” Grammer remembers. “I had a doctor suggest I should play some music; it’s great for your brain, and it’ll help keep the hand active.”
From there, she taught herself chords and kept playing. By the time Davis joined in 2024, Grammer already had a clear sense of what she wanted the project to sound like.
“I love Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline, and I’ve always loved ‘70s Americana rock and roll,” she says. “I thought I could apply some of those ideas to a country music form and make it more dark and gothic.”
At Adelaide Hall, that vision already feels fully formed on stage. Despite having only released one single, Belle and Chain’s dark, folk-leaning sound lands with confidence. The duo are midway through a North American tour supporting British indie rocker Barns Courtney, with Toronto marking their first—and only—Canadian stop.
Davis, who also plays in Courtney’s band, calls the tour experience “nothing short of amazing.”
“It’s been really great to test ourselves in front of audiences,” he says. “It’s been such a great opportunity to be able to jump on his bill because his fans are so kind.”
The duo lean into Western iconography on stage with cowboy-esque outfits and preview unreleased songs set to appear on their upcoming EP.
“Don’t You Worry Babe” was the first song from this project, released April 9. The lyrics, penned by Grammer, are introspective, romantic, and at times brooding. Speaking about his bandmate’s songwriting, Davis points to her natural instinct for storytelling.
Grammer traces much of that sensibility back to her West Coast upbringing.
“I wanted to be immersed in a world when I’m trying to build music. I think there’s this feeling of the West that exists, because I grew up in California, that is different from Texas or the South, and I wanted to capture that.”
Although her career has mostly revolved around her voice, Grammer says she spent most of her life thinking she wasn’t a good singer.
“I don’t sing like I’m in a Disney movie, and I just thought that’s what I was supposed to sound like as a woman,” she says.
“At some point, I started to tell myself to not listen to that thing in my head and believe I can do it.”
Grammer has been documenting the process of making their EP through videos on Substack, capturing the learning curve in real time. The band recorded the first few songs at Voyager Studios in L.A., and the next at Sargent Recorders, a studio owned by Gus Seyffert, who played bass in The Black Keys.
Through documenting the making of the EP, Grammer says it’s nice to be able to look back on their musical progress. Collaborating with producer Sean Cook, who has worked with artists like Weyes Blood and Angel Olsen, Grammer went from only tracking vocals to also playing guitar and percussion on some of the songs.
“It’s funny because watching the videos now, having had another year in the music world, I see that I’ve changed and grown a lot as an artist,” she says. “I know more things than I did then.”
Through Belle and Chain’s live show, you can see the sound and themes of the EP taking shape, embodying their various retro influences. They seem to have a finger on the pulse of current music as well, playing an acoustic cover of “Cobra” by New York indie stalwarts Geese and transforming the song into an old-school country tune.
Grammer’s striking, slightly raspy voice lends itself to the mood; much of the enthusiastic crowd had lined up well before doors and seemed entranced by the band’s Western gothic stylings.
Above all, Grammer and Davis appear to have a lot of fun making and playing music together. Grammer says the positive response they’ve received from their first single makes her excited for Belle and Chain’s future.
“You know sometimes you don’t know why you’re given a gift or why you choose the path that you do, but the idea is to use it to the best of your ability.”
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