A Pretty Mess By This One Band

by

Grandaddy

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I love Grandaddy, and you should, too. This album is a firm foundation upon which Sophtware Slump and Western Freeway were built. The distinct sound of the band is present in this early release. It forshadows the masterpiece Western Freeway the most, as it calls upon both electronica and traditional acoustic workings to paint an ethereal yet firmly grounded menage of sound. The cool and sometime subdued sound of Grandaddy is what makes them so appealing. Taster is a perfect example of a song being laid back but hard at the same time. It never quite reaches full speed but is powerful throughout with high-pitched vocals to keep us overly interested. I like this album, it makes me quite happy...

Every great band starts on a foundation of not-great-but-good music. And so is Grandaddy's present sound built on "A Pretty Mess By This One Band," a psychedelic-acoustic collection of songs -- grittier and less polished, but still worth checking out.

The distant float-away "Away Birdies W/Special Sounds" is grounded by the constant guitar-strumming. Following it are some laid-back rockers ("Taster," the buzzing "Pre-Merced") and ethereal ballads (the piano-led "Peeano," the folky "Gentle Spike Resort"), wrapping up with the harmonica-rocker "Egg Hit and Jack Too."

Grandaddy was close, but not yet at their apex with these songs. They're rough and a little uncertain, like the band wasn't quite sure what was going to come next for them musically. But it was on this base that their vibrant indie-rock CDs of the present are set on, and if you listen, you can hear hints in songs like "Gentle Spike Resort" ("We'll get right on that/I'm sure it's just the thermostat...")

Certainly the post-grunge psychedelica shows plenty of range. There are folky acoustic guitars and buzzing electric ones, a gentle piano solo and what sounds like a harmonica. Normal rock, this ain't. But the music rises and falls in true Grandaddy style, and Jason Lytle's singsongy voice is in fine form here.

For fans of Grandaddy, "A Pretty Mess by This One Band" is a fun but not compelling collection of early Grandaddy. It contains little rumblings of genius, but they weren't quite there yet.