Last Place
30th Century
2017
Rating: 8.5 beard breakthroughs out of 10
I suppose it's just the nature of modern connectivity and social media, but it wasn't the least bit surprising that Grandaddy got back together and recorded this new album, "Last Place." I've followed lead man Jason Lytle on Instagram for years, and you could see it brewing all along...reconnecting with old bandmates, reforming for festivals, spending time in the studios, and now this obvious final product. It was actually nice to follow along at arm's length, modern day eavesdropping essentially, on an artist you really admire.
But let's talk about what's important - how does this new album by a reformed Grandaddy actually sound? Well - exactly as you probably are hoping - exactly like the Grandaddy of old. If it leaked that they actually recorded "Last Place" right after they finished "Just Like the Fambly Cat" in 2006, no one would question it. I wouldn't rank this as high as their masterpiece "The Sophtware Slump," but it easily stands toe-to-toe with the rest. The album kicks off with a great one-two punch, "Way We Won't" and "Brush with the Wild," and never fails to delight from there on out. There's even a call back to "Sophtware" with the track "Jed the 4th," not only referencing a frequent theme from that record, but even including a snippet of one of the "Jed" songs you can find on "Sophtware."
My only complaint - they're not playing anywhere near me anytime soon, and I might have to fly my dumb ass out to California just to see them next month.
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