Grandaddy - Sumday
Sumday, V2 [2003]
Perhaps 1992 and Modesto, CA was the wrong time and place for Grandaddy to come into being. A few bands dominated the mid 90’s indie rock scene, and if there was only room enough for one futuristic, experimental, slacker-college-boys-turned-indie band, Pavement was it. The turn of the century brought about both the demise of Pavement and the rise of the future-pop quartet Grandaddy. The big question then becomes, can Grandaddy fill Pavement’s shoes? Their second major full-length record, The Sophtware Slump, was released in 2000 and garnered them some level of fame in the U.K. Four years later, widespread American fame still eludes them, but their latest release, Sumday, could be the North American breakthrough they’ve been waiting for.
Grandaddy are singer/songwriter/musician extraordinaire Jason Lytle, bassist Kevin Garcia, guitarist Jim Fairchild, keyboardist Tim Dryden and drummer Aaron Burtch. Like pavement before them, they make music filled with brilliant hooks and pop melodies that are hard to dislike. They add futuristic sounds from MOOG synthesizers and other space-age instruments in a way that seems to fit perfectly with their more traditional instruments.
If Death Cab’s songs tell stories of the heart, Grandaddy’s are all about the mind. Jason’s lyrics are ponderous and philosophical, and can have unexpected effects on the listener. For example, I never thought I’d feel sorry for robots, until hearing the dazzling “Stray Dog and the Chocolate Shake” from Sumday. It starts with the line “The supervisor guy turns off the factory lights so the robots have to work in the dark.” I could almost cry.
Sumday is really a great album start to finish and contains sure-to-be-hits like “El Caminos in the West” and “Now it’s On.” I’m a relatively new Grandaddy listener, but after a couple listens, I was quickly hooked. Oh yeah, if you’re an environmentalist, the CD claims to be Carbon Neutral. It states that Grandaddy will plant trees to make up for the carbon dioxide released as a result of the production and distribution process. It does not mention any animal testing, but I’m sure no animals were harmed in the process either. I guess they are futurists after all.