SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: GRANDADDY – BLU WAV

GRANDADDY
BLU WAV
DANGERBIRD RECORDS

Bluegrass, country, and new wave join forces for Blu Wav, the newest release by Grandaddy. Grandaddy has ventured into bluegrass and country territory before, but with Blu Wav, they fully commit to the bit. Ultimately, this hurts the album the most as there is an extreme lack of variety and complexity in the sound compared to their other releases. It still has some good songs and exceptional songwriting, but it never matches the excellence they achieved in Under the Western Freeway, The Sophtware Slump, or Sumday. 

“Cabin in My Mind” and “Long As I’m Not The One” are fantastic songs, though neither are among the best works of Grandaddy’s career. The former has a sort of Beatlesque opening (just with a hint of bluegrass), is very elegant, has the catchiest and most memorable chorus, and has just the right amount of twang. The latter has some great synth hooks, a good combination of new wave and bluegrass, and very vulnerable and sorrowful lyrics about loneliness. Both tracks are better than 90% of the bluegrass or country you hear on the radio.

Jason Lytle’s songwriting is very captivating, even if it does not always leave as lasting an impression as other Grandaddy records. Lytle’s work on “You’re Going to Be Fine and I’m Going to Hell” demonstrates his powerful storytelling the best. It has the same existential dread and gloom prevalent in many Grandaddy songs. The entire song is overflowing with an immense amount of sadness, heartache, and despair, and is bound to make you feel empty inside. In addition to the stellar songwriting, it has some nice space rock elements in the instrumental break, reminiscent of some of their earlier work in the 90s and early 2000s.

As the record progresses, its sound becomes more stagnant and duller. Pretty much every track in the second half sounds somewhat similar to something in the first half. “On A Train Or Bus” and “Nothin’ To Lose” are the biggest culprits of this as they sound similar to much better tracks like “Watercooler”, “Cabin In My Mind”, and “Long As I’m Not The One”.

Some of the most dynamic tracks end up being short interludes like “Let’s Put This Pinto On The Moon” and “Yeehaw AI In The Year 2025”. These interludes are interesting, but make you wish Grandaddy would have incorporated more of what they were doing with the sound there with the rest of the album. There is a lack of risk-taking regarding the instrumentation on this record. Previous Grandaddy records like The Sophtware Slump and Sumday have tons of weird and unusual experimentation and exciting surprises. They constantly reshaped their sound, never staying too consistent with any genre or style, making it a nightmare to put them under any one label. These albums were the reason why they were often called by critics and audiences alike the ‘American Radiohead.’ Unfortunately, Blu Wav does not make them seem worthy of that comparison.

Blu Wav starts strong but goes downhill and ends up being one of the weaker Grandaddy records.

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