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Review: Jack Foley
GRANDADDY frontman, Jason Lytle, recently admitted during an
interview with XFM's Zoe Ball that the band felt a little burned
out following their last album and tour - hence the reason why
it has taken three years to deliver Sumday.
For their fans, however, the wait has been worth it, as the rewards
are plenty.
Sumday marks an altogether more positive form of songwriting
from the band, which really nails down the sun-drenched roots
of their Californian home (they hail from Modesto), and arrives
like a breezy, melodic Summer long-player, that is certain to
feature among the year's best releases.
Kicking off with the brilliant first single, Now It's On,
which captures the brighter outlook of the band in lyrics such
as 'I got not reason to be weathered and withery, like in the
season of the old me', the album then proceeds to deliver
a laidback journey through some of the best space-rock since last
year's equally sumblime Flaming Lips album.
Indeed, comparisons with the Lips aren't misplaced, as the two
bands possess a similar approach to songwriting - dreamy lyrics,
soft, subdued vocals and an equally lazy, yet feelgood, guitar
base.
That said, it is important to remember that Grandaddy came first
and are merely cementing a reputation in fine style.
Hence, other notable tracks include the forthcoming single, El
Caminos In The West (said to be backed by a brilliantly funny
video), which finds the band feeling a long way from home (possibly
evoking memories of how they felt after the last tour), while
still managing to remain packed with the band's trademark lush
lullabies and sunshine melodies.
Grandaddy may not always be tackling happy subject matter, but
at least the tracks themselves remain breezy affairs, seldom threatening
to drag you down in the same way that the melancholic likes of
Radiohead can.
Take, for instance, the tortured lyrics of the dreamy I'm
On Standby, which further explore the relationship between
science and nature, or the heartfelt lament of the piano-based
Saddest Vacant Lot In All The World, which features the
sorry breakdown of a relationship, tracks which could so easily
become depressing still sound great to listen to, without ever
becoming overbearing.
Perhaps it's because of Lytle's near-death experience, in which
he was run over by a lorry after falling off the tour bus, that
such deep issues are tackled, due to the fact that the singer
is now more aware of his own mortality.
Yet Grandaddy have always flirted with darker material, while
retaining that enviable ability to shed some light on the blackest
of moods.
And when tracks such as the remarkably upbeat Stray Dog and
the Chocolate Shake, or the epic, ELO-throwback, Final
Push to the Sun, arrive, you quickly realise why your love
of all things Grandaddy remains as strong as ever.
Masterful stuff.
Related review: Excerpts
From The Diary of Todd Zilla EP
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Track listing:
1. Now It's On
2. I'm On Standby
3. The Go In The Go-For-It
4. The Group Who Couldn't Say
5. Lost On Yer Merry Way
6. El Caminos In The West
7. Yeah Is What We Had
8. Saddest Vacant Lot In All The World
9. Stray Dog And The Chocolate Shake
10. O.K. With My Decay
11. The Warming Sun
12. The Final Push To The Sum
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