Customer Reviews

Sumday

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I can't count how many reviews I've read in various media of this album that lament its lack of "experimentalism" compared to Sophtware Slump. Sopthware is certainly a masterful disc, but is that all people want from thier bands: more of the same? What if the Beatles had made Sgt Pepper's four times over? It gets old. I also sense unease with the prospect of Jason Lytle writing "happy" songs. Is he not allowed to be happy? Just because it's not dark doesn't mean it's instantly blaze and mainstream. Your disconnect more likely means that you're depressed. I for one applaud this new effort from one of our best bands going. The songwriting is solid, and I would argue that the last two songs are the most grand and touching that they've ever made, and my favorites from their entire catalog.
For those who've never spun a Grandaddy CD, this is as good a disc as any to start with. I'd say you could best describe them as a rock band with a dash of country, low-fi synth, and one of the more unique, memorable vocalists nowadays. They remind me most of The Flaming Lips, and Pet Sounds-eque Brian Wilson. They're an indie rock band without the anger or self-importance. Find another band like that.

Spacey folk-rockers Grandaddy have returned with a melodic quilt of pop harmony and sci-fi lyrics. Okay, at times it sounds a bit like "The Sophtware Slump Chapter II." But "Sumday" has a certain personality of its own, more upbeat and less distant.

After a bit of vocal clicking (meaning somebody saying "click... on... click... on...") Grandaddy kicks off into the catchy "Now It's On." Pensive robot-rock takes its place in this album ("I'm On Standby," the quirky "Stray Dog and the Chocolate Shake") along with music-biz criticism ("The Group Who Couldn't Say"). Finally it winds through wistful psychedelic pop ("Yeah is What We Had," "OK With My Decay") and piano ballads ("Saddest Vacant Lot In All The World") before finally asking, over and over, "What have I become?"

"Sumday" seems to introduce a more upbeat side to Grandaddy. "I wouldn't trade my place/I got no reason to be/weathered and withering/like in a season of the old me," Lyte informs us. Not that the music is all butterflies and light. It mood-swings between depression-laden songs and quirky little collages, before ending on a note of confusion.

The cool, shimmery music is grounded by Jason Lytle's distant voice and some okay percussion and some guitars, both fuzzy and regular. At one point in "Yeah Is What We Had," it even sounds like there are tambourines. The lyrics are solidly evocative, with the robots working late shifts in the dark, walking in a storm, and sweeping eerie landscapes.

"Sumday" is a lush indie-rock-pop collection with plenty of electronic flourishes. Another aural treat from Grandaddy, experimental and peculiar and sweet.

Grandaddy's latest effort "Sumday" is another keeper. It's not as quirky and oddly cool as their last album "The Sophtware Slump" (no "crash-landed crows") but it does offer a line-up of very original and catchy songs.

After hearing "The Crystal Lake" and "Miner at the Dial-a-View" on Internet radio in the summer of 2002, I raced out to buy "TSS". The rest of the songs on the album took a little longer to digest but settled into my brain after about half a dozen spins. As I compulsively do with all great albums, I anticipated the follow-up album to "TSS" like a little kid. Though burned many times over the years by bands like New Order and The Foo Fighters, I'm very satisfied with "Sumday".

"Sumday"'s opening track, the highly endearing "Now It's On" (why aren't alternative stations playing this?) is a great lead-off. As the songs domino along, overload sets in and it becomes apparent that Grandaddy has given us way too much to make sense of in the first sitting. As a testament to the sophistication of GD's music, "Sumday", like "TSS", takes several plays to understand and appreciate. Once that happens, listeners should find every song quite pleasant. This album certainly won't fire up a frat party but it's unbeatable as background music while working on the computer or to keep spirits up on a long road trip.

Grandaddy has the perfect combination of musical integrity, talent and obscurity (for now) to make them my favorite band. I'm looking forward to seeing them in concert in September and I share the band's sentiment in hoping that they "won't get too fed up with the music business" as I'm already looking forward to their next album.

It's interesting that there are a couple of old-time fans below who were disappointed with Grandaddy's latest. I'm wondering if they wrote their reviews immediately after getting the CD, and thus they didn't give their taste buds time to acclimate to all the nuance in Sumday.

I find this new record insidious; it gets under your skin with each repeated playing, with new, interesting little morsels of goodness revealing themselves. You have to sit down to listen to this CD, loud, and preferably on good equipment. I kinda liked the album when I heard it on my car's so-so system, but when I popped it into my Discman and heard it on my studio headphones (highly recommended), that's when it hit me: These guys are making some of the most interesting rock music out there. If it wasn't for Grandaddy, Radiohead, Flaming Lips, Earlimart, Badly Drawn Boy and Dandy Warhols, hell, I'd be very pessimistic about the state of rock music in the world.

Give this album a chance if you're into spacey rock/folk stuff. And if you're here sampling their songs on Amazon and you're hearing them on crappy computer speakers, just know you're truly not experiencing the nuances of this music.

Finally, yes, their old stuff -- especially the previous album -- is brilliant, but I feel Sumday is just as passionate and inventive.

Play this album loud and prepare to enter a world of robots, babbling brooks and software gliches, which combined, sounds like a glorious symphony of cosmic proportions. Especially good if driving though the American West, although it may be good for east-of-the-Mississippi driving, too. (I've never tried it, although I did listen to it as far east as Kansas City.) Also perfect for Manhattan's Avenue canyons on you iPod. Dreamy, superb indie rock like no other. Nature is re-defined by this record.

when i first heard "now it's on", i thought it might be death cab for cutie or maybe built to spill, which are two bands i love, but it was grandaddy. So you if you like any kind of music like that, you will like grandaddy. "I'm on Standby" and "Now It's on" are both really good, but the rest of the cd is also pretty good. They're one of my favorite bands now, and i think that if you're a fan of indie music, you should buy this album.

While this album is certainly a good, easy to listen to work, it lacks the punch of previous grandaddy albums. All the songs are quite nice but there is nothing that jumps out and grabs you like on Sophtware Slump, Western Freeway, etc. If you are expecting the rough, interesting sounds of past efforts you might be dissapointed. You won't find anything as experimental and wonderful as "AM 180" or "Our Dying Brains" on this album. You will find a complete album of good songs that are enjoyable if not great.

I just picked up this album and have to say that while there are no new tricks by Grandaddy on this album, they have a production quality and sound that is now complete.

For those who don't know the band, Grandaddy hails from the Central Valley of California and has a sound as the amazon reviewer correctly put as a blend of ELO, the Beach Boys, and others.

The harmonies, lush and bright sound quality on this album and smooth feel are very polished much the way the Beach Boys were. This album is NOT a surf album but when you hear the songs you will understand the comparisons in terms of sonic quality.

I really like the fact that the band is not afraid to use synthesizers and computers much the way 80's pop bands did, but hasn't completely gone soft with its musical influences. The guitar work has a very fuzzy quality and the blend with sounds and noises is very reminiscent of what Pavement was doing back in the late 90's but has the feel of ELO at times, in a GOOD way.

This may seem like a strange comparison but i find the computer sounds and synth sounds that seemingly enter the songs very much jarring and soothing the way John Spencer did the same with his distorted guitar on his single "Afro" a few years back. It kind of sneeks up on you, but then you are glad and impressed with the manner in which the band integrated the sounds.

The lyrics are sarcastic and thought provoking, which odes to their grungy and punk influences and im happy to hear that they are out on tour with the likes of Pete Yorn (just played a concert in L.A. at the Wiltern) which should give them the exposure they need to turn people on to what they are doing.

While the concept is not revolutionary, and owes a lot to the Flaming Lips, there are few too many bands who are going this direction with modern music (taking risks!) and who pull it off so well. As the liner notes say, the band "hopes they don't get sick of the industry" and "hope to continue" to provide music to its fans for years to come.

I look forward to hearing them soon and predict that you'll be hearing them on modern rock stations in the very near future.

One of the fantastic things about Grandaddy is that they're one of the few groups releasing "albums" and not just "a cd with one or two songs worth listening to and a bunch of other stuff to fill space". Their cd's feel complete, worthwhile, and personal. I love these guys and this new album is awesome, possibly their best. This is their most positive, carefree music, though it does have it's slower, more dreamy moments. While it never gets as musically contemplative as Sophtware Slump, it feels like they're comfortable in this new territory. It has a clear, breath-of-fresh-air quality to it, even the sad and silvery movements are exhilerating. Don't get me wrong, it's still Grandaddy (Great Grandaddy) through and through and I hope they keep making music for a long time.

I thought this CD was really great. It has some of the best produced songs yet and it's truely an album to treasury a true classic buy it buy it now!