Hello I am Masters University Degree for Leeds English.
Hello I am Masters University Degree for Leeds English.
Member since:13.02.2006
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There are only two albums which match up to the standards set by Radiohead's OK Computer, which was perhaps one of the most brilliant, complex and endless albums that the last fifteen years has produced. In terms of equalling the dystopic future laid out in the concept for that album, and the tone, sound, and quality of the music, only one band equal and improve upon Radiohead's best album. Grandaddy. They were an American band who explored similar themes to Radiohead in a vaguely similar way, and had the same streak of experimentalism within them. "The Sophtware Slump", their best album, is better than OK Computer by miles.
It takes a few listens though, just like Radiohead do. Grandaddy are a more accessible and upbeat band than the Oxford bunch, though, with band leader Jason Lytle proving to be a gentler and more understanding vocalist than the kinda preachy Thom Yorke. Lytle's voice doesn't hold a candle to Yorke, but stands on its own as a subtle and effective way of allowing the band to explore themes that no other band will. A lot of The Sophtware Slump is spent discussing the idea of robots, technology, and more importantly, it is focused on the idea of these robots breaking down, and what kind of life they would lead. Do they have feeling? Lives? Emotions? What effect would that have on our society? These are the offbeat questions the band puts to us during the record, a record which is made completely effective by the mere fact that the band doesn't supply answers to the questions they ask. The music is haunted and weighed down by the heavy themes and musical arrangements, yet lifted by the lightness of the vocals from Lytle, and the optimistic
stance that the album ultimately takes in. Lordy, I sound like an idiot. Let me put this simply: this is one of the most complete albums I have ever heard. Along with Neutral Milk Hotel's In The Aeroplane Over The Sea and OK Computer, it's one of the three most 'finished', if that makes sense, records ever made.
When I say best, I mean most technically complete and emotionally fulfilling. Sgt Pepper is more important to music, of course it is, but from a personal viewpoint the tingling rhythm of "Under The Weeping Willow" is an audio experience that has never been matched. Everything clicks so thoroughly, that the gentle nature of the music is mesmerising. The vision and scope laid out throughout the album is stunning, with no song more exemplary than the opening "He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's The Pilot", an eight minute track that fades from a quiet jangly beginning into a crossfaded synthetic vocal ballad, before going on to hit more emotional beats that sparkle alongside the ploughing acoustic guitars that form a cohesive backdrop for the song. It's a special piece of music, is what I'm trying to get across to you here. Download it! By the time the pianos have sprung up to turn things into a hushed ballad, you'll agree with me. It's perhaps the most experimental piece on the album, and a cracking opening that sets the tone for other songs such as the not-so-good "E. Knievel Interlude (The Perils Of Keeping It Real)", a short instrumental with a worried keyboard melody and grandfather clocking ticking in the background, and "Jed's Other Poem (Beautiful Ground)". A bitter and weary-sounding keyboard tiresomely repeats itself over and over while heavy guitars and bass hold out long notes over the top, and Lytle laments the loss of natural habitat because of industrialisation.
The theme of nature Vs science is repeated often during the album, most notably on the other song to feature the 'Jed' character: "Jed The Humanoid". The plaintive notes of the song play against the empathetic recital of the story by Lytle, as he tells the story of Jed, a robot who drank himself to death - it's odd, but there is a kind of poetry behind the story, and the way he tells it is spellbinding, rain falling in the background. "Last night something pretty bad happened/we lost a friend/all shocked and broken/shut down, exploded" - I can tell already, you want to hear this album. Not everything is so odd and experimental, though, don't worry. In fact, with the two singles "The Crystal Lake" and "Hewlett's Daughter", the band have written two indie-rock gems. The former in particular has dreamlike quality as twinkling keyboard rhythms are accompanied by slow and low growling guitars which rise as the chorus approaches - "I gotta get out of here", Lytle intones. "Hewlett's Daughter", on the other hand, is a slightly more immediate and rocky tune, but still has that dreamy, endless guitar sound stretching behind a discordant piano. Both are superb, as is the jarring guitars of "Chartsengrafs" (which is pronounced 'charts and graphs', obviously), which blare out together in no particular rhythm, adding noise to the song before they add melody. The tune is then provided by Lytle's soaring vocal and an extended keyboard solo which evens out the song nicely.
The album switches moods quickly, following acoustic-y ballads with heavy distortion as is the band's wont. "Broken Household Appliance National Forest" manages to switch those two moods within the same song, being all about the way technology is destroying our wildlife - think about the title for a moment, actually try to make sense of it, and hopefully you'll see the poetry in what is really a series of words thrown together. The song mishmashes wonderfully, going into jam sessions on a structured basis, taking a quiet verse and turning it into a heavy, dystopian chorus. The best part of the album, however, is the ending. A lot of albums run through their length stunningly well, but then flub the finale. This album, sort of like Dark Side Of The Moon, does not. The last two songs flow from one to the other easily, and provide a proud and poignant end to a great album. "Miner At The Dial-A-View" jumps straight into it, with a wonderfully unhinged, slow acoustic guitar strum forming the backbone for a song that incorporates all the anti-technology/pro-technology feeling the band have pushed into the album with machine noisies, dreamy keyboards, washing guitars, glorious harmonies, and the disembodied voice of the 'Dial-A-View' itself. It leads into the marvellous "So You'll Aim Toward The Sky", a song so beautiful and dreamlike it deserves to start the next paragraph.
"So You'll Aim Toward The Sky" is, like "Eclipse" from Dark Side of the Moon, a song which completely fulfils the rest of the album and leaves you in such an emotional and haunted place that you need to listen to the album again, as quickly as possible. An off-kilter guitar introduces the song, which itself runs on the thin side of madness as Lytle harmonises and philosophises over a sparkling set of notes from the keyboard and lush strings setting the song in an airy background. You can hear the sound of wind rushing round the music as the song goes on, and especially as the music winds up and leaves with the faintest hint of heavenly ascension implied at the finale. Just the slightest hint. You know what these musician-folk are like, they never want to spell things out for you. The song finishes off the album is grand style, and after listening all the way through (which may test your patience; this is not an easy album to settle in to) you should hopefully realise that, yes, you've just listened to one of the best albums ever made. Far better than OK Computer. The Sophtware Slump is one of the most superb things you could ever buy, and I include spaceships in that assessment.
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Grandaddy, for the uninitiated, are best thought of as belonging to a loose association of ... more
American bands who have risen to a modest prominence in the lean post-grunge years. Their confederates would include such determined mavericks as Mercury Rev, Fl...
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Grandaddy, for the uninitiated, are best thought of as belonging to a loose association of ... more
American bands who have risen to a modest prominence in the lean post-grunge years. Their confederates would include such determined mavericks as Mercury Rev, Fl...
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He's Simple He's Dumb He's The Pilot Hewlett's Daughter Jed The Humanoid Crystal Lake ... more
The Chartsengrafs Underneath The Weeping Willow Broken Household Appliance National Forest Jed's Other Poem (Beautiful Ground) E. Knievel Interlude (The Pe...
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Jun 23rd, 2008
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