Grandaddy are a unique group whose characteristic blend of swirling synths and psychedelic guitars has been wrapping fans in a warm blanket of beauty for the ears for more than 30 years.
The latest music from Jason Lytle, the creative core of the band, who writes and performs most of the music in the studio himself, complements his signature lo-fi lushness with the mournful wail of a pedal steel guitar.
Like the similarly inclined Wilco, who went back to their roots with Cruel Country in 2022, he has taken Grandaddy down a similar country (and western) road with a new album, Blu Wav.
With its plangent melody and ethereal harmonies, Watercooler is a sad song of loss and regret, and the pedal steel adds pathos to the melancholy in its lyrics. Rolling Stone magazine called it a blend of bluegrass and New Wave, which I have to say would not be my description. At all.
Great song though, and a great video by Aaron Beckum, whose leitmotif is a mechanical wolf. You can see more of its adventures, exploring the highways and byways of LA, in the video for Cabin In My Mind, the second song to come from the forthcoming album.
The new country-fried Grandaddy was born while Lytle was driving through the Nevada desert listening to Patti Page’s song Tennessee Waltz on a classic country radio station. He says half the songs on the new album will be waltzes, with the songs featuring “an inordinate amount of pedal steel.”
It follows several Grandaddy break-ups and reunions as Lytle embarked on a series of side projects, including his recent contribution to Sparklehorse’s posthumous album last year, and the death of original bassist Kevin Garcia from a stroke in 2017 at the age of only 41.
The band started out back in 1992 in Modesto, California, and broke through with Under The Western Freeway in 1996 and The Sophtware Slump in 2000, but first broke up while recording their 2006 album Just Like The Fambly Cat.
Since then Lytle has moved from California to Montana and more recently Portland, Oregon, pursuing side projects including a solo album (Yours Truly, The Commuter), a Christmas collection of improvised piano pieces, a film score, a solo piano remake of The Sophtware Slump, a new band (Admiral Radley) and a supergroup (BNQT).
And now back to Grandaddy. I can’t wait for the new album next month.