Grandaddy (from the album Blu Wav

Grandaddy (from the album Blu Wav

Grandaddy (from the album Blu Wav available on Dangerbird Records) (by Lee Zimmerman)
Grandaddy — the proverbial grandaddy of many of today’s Indie outfits — solidify their standing as masters of melody and mystique courtesy of this, their first new studio release in some seven years. Naturally, that’s a long time to be away, regardless of whether one ranks as a superstar or an Indie icon. Fortunately, then, Blu Wav immediately affirms their penchant for sharing impressionable melodies anointed with breathtaking arrangements, all of which shimmer, sparkle and add a luminescent feel to the surroundings overall. Some five albums on — all in addition to mainstay Jason Lytle’s own individual output — they remain as creative and compelling as ever.
That said, they do so without having to relying on the expressed eccentricity that’s often employed by many of their contemporaries. The majority of these songs — “East Yosemite”, “Cabin In My Mind”, “Long As I’m Not the One”, “Watercolor”, and “Let’s Put This Pinto On the Moon” in particular — are captivating and yet calming, given an ethereal sound that’s sweetly surreal and yet delicately defined. The music is lush, and yet laid back, allowing room for Lytle’s dryly precise persona. Synths, pedal steel and a certain psychedelic sensibility pervades the proceedings, and when the instrumental interludes occasionally break the spell, it merely adds to the fact that the band’s committed to creating music that reaches beyond the bounds of whammy be otherwise expected.
Lytle claims that Blu Wav was inspired by nature’s overwhelming beauty as well as the more mundane moments that often make for life’s most lingering memories. The title was meant to signify a mash-up of Bluegrass and New Wave but the mediative vibe eschews any notion of either. In truth, it blends the slow sway of a gentle waltz with the atmospheric appeal that nurtures added intrigue. When Lyle sings ‘you’re going to be fine and I’m going to hell’ on the song of the same name, it holds to the soothing confines of the album as a whole, but contradicts the intentions that may have been otherwise implied.
Ultimately, Blu Wav is as elusive as it is appealing, and it’s those elements that elevate this well beyond mere wistful repose. Credit this particular Grandaddy with more than earning superior senior status. (By Lee Zimmerman)
Listen and buy the music of Grandaddy from AMAZON
 
For more information head over to the Grandaddy website