Unless a band reaches a certain level of stardom, these days their musical careers are destined to be punctured by the interruptions from ‘real life’ — the spaces they need to occupy between albums and tours to sustain themselves.
As a result, records become postcards. Instead of following a standard two year release cycle, listeners are instead treated to more sporadic glimpses into a band’s process as and when their schedules allow. Great Grandpa’s third record ‘Patience, Moonbeam’ arrives six years on from its predecessor, with the Washington quintet variously scattered by careers, relationships and families only to be reunited when the yearning to create finally meshed with the availability to do so.
And while their previous work may have benefited from the immediacy that being young and in a hurry may bring, ‘Patience, Moonbeam’ is made all the better for being allowed to stew.
Having had time to write and rewrite these songs multiple times, Great Grandpa have been able to double down on their contempt for convention, both structurally and stylistically.
Take their treatment of Emma as one example. It is, on the surface, a relatively straightforward track with a big chorus. It is not until two songs later, when that hook reappears for a major payoff during Doom, that it all makes sense. The lyrics, anchored around a wearied “damn” from singer Al Menne, offer alternate takes of the same events and there is a goosebump-inducing sense of deja vu.
The group’s time away also seems to have granted them the freedom to care less about what might be expected of them. When their voices combine for a gang chant chorus on Ladybug it is as though they are rejoicing in the simple fact that they are still able to make music together.
Elsewhere, the seductive pop of the title track is a foray into new territory and a stark contrast to the country swoon of Top Gun. These stylistic gymnastics do not feel disjointed, though. It seems instead to speak to the stage the band are at in their lives, where they are more assured of who they are and presenting that to the world.
Time, patience, and the resulting confidence serve Great Grandpa well on ‘Patience, Moonbeam’, a record that is also testament to the fact that bold, exciting music can be borne from the most mundane of circumstances, where everyday lives are put on hold to create something special.
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