Apparently, ‘Last Place’ marks the return of Grandaddy after 11 years away. But, if we’re all completely honest with each other, it’s not really been that long as much of the pre-hiatus music released as Grandaddy remains interchangeable with the solo material put out by frontman Jason Lytle in the interim. And, while we’re at it, we can agree that 2006’s ‘Just Like the Fambly Cat’ was also a Lytle solo project, given that the rest of the band had pretty much given up the ghost by then.
After all, why bother with the formalities of a group when you can keep on pushing out records from your home studio, utilising the ‘Grandaddy Satisfaction Guarantee’ to help make a decent return?
Why indeed! And that guarantee of satisfaction is brought to you by the holy trinity of ‘Under the Western Freeway’, ‘The Sophtware Slump’ and ‘Sumday’; Grandaddy albums released over a six-year period at the turn of the century and every one of them a winner.
Adopting an ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ attitude, Lytle has now unleashed ‘Last Place’, a record that is so steeped in early 2000s culture and sounds that it could quite easily have come out at any point in the last 20 years.
It’s not a cop-out as such because, while there is nothing new here, it does remind us of how great Lytle’s songwriting was and, indeed, still is. If this was a debut, no matter if it was released in this century or last, then the judges would be holding up their 9s and 10s across the board. But it’s not. It’s Grandaddy’s sixth (or Lytle’s eighth) and it’s a little bit disappointing for the die-hard fan.
The songs here follow a simple pattern that has been evident on most of their previous releases. There’s the fact that those featuring a quirky keyboard riff at the forefront are the best (Way We Won’t, Evermore), an equal number of ‘chilled’ vs ‘rock the fuck out’ tunes to keep the balance and of course, the sub-two-minute throwaway instrumental.
But what’s missing here is any lasting thrill of hearing a new record. Most copies of ‘Under the Western Freeway’ have no doubt been worn out but there’s not much chance of the same happening here. Sonically, it seems to be aiming for ‘The Sophtware Slump’ Mk II, but it doesn’t hit the mark nearly as often either musically or lyrically. Lytle has stated in recent interviews that there’s “at least one more” Grandaddy record in the offing, so let’s hope that it’s an improvement on this one.
Grandaddy Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Thu March 23 2017 - EDINBURGH Potterrow
Sun March 26 2017 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE Hoults Yard
Mon March 27 2017 - LEEDS Leeds Irish Centre
Tue March 28 2017 - MANCHESTER Albert Hall
Wed March 29 2017 - NOTTINGHAM Rock City
Fri March 31 2017 - BRISTOL Colston Hall
Sat April 01 2017 - BRIGHTON Concorde 2
Mon April 03 2017 - LONDON Roundhouse
Click here to compare & buy Grandaddy Tickets at Stereoboard.com.
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
