Search - Grandaddy :: Under the Western Freeway

Is there more perfect music out there?

Jasper Mcworthy | USA | 12/25/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Honestly, tell me cause I love this stuff. These guys managed to dodge so much crap in the music industry and stay on top of their game from album to album. But this. Truly their finest work. It's absolutely remarkable. "Summer Here Kids", "Everything Beautiful is Far Away", "AM 180" are all jams that I could not live without hearing from time to time, it's a timeless piece of music that is about joy and happiness coming out of your radio.

More importantly it's absolutely gorgeous songwriting intertwining over and over again, over this wall of music you can't escape cause the sounds are so familiar and exist somewhere between a computer and guitar. It's the transformation from a folk to more sonic sound and it's almost like Grandaddy is singing merrily the whole way there."

Sci Fi country lullabies

Joshua Eyre | Chicago, IL | 01/13/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Picked up the mantle that Pavement dropped circa Wowee Zowee without sounding too much like Pavement... Grandaddy really had something good with this album and Sophtware Slump. The songs are simple but not boring. Their lo-fi sound and Jason Lytle's fragile voice makes for a perfect combination and the resulting tracks sound very sad and distant while still rocking along in most cases. This album feels very much about place and it's an enjoyable experience to step into Grandaddy's world for a little while."

Bittersweet Bliss

gonzobrarian | 01/14/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In the span of just a couple weeks, I've gone from complete ignorance of this band to checking out every one of their records from my local library and listening compulsively. And that's saying something because if you know anything about Grandaddy, you're probably aware that it takes patience and repeated listening to acquire a taste for this band. I've listened to all except `Sumday', but I'm assured that it's just as awesome as the rest of their other albums. Every record of Grandaddy has several infectious tunes, but this album in particular is one that I keep coming back to. It may not be as cohesive or thematic as `The Sophtware Slump' but the blips and bleeps in combination with relentless drums and overwhelming guitar work have really hit home with me. It's strange that although this is their first release, there is ominous feeling of nostalgia, despair, and resignation that runs throughout the recording, as is evident in the song `Everything Beautiful is Far Away'. But there is balance as well, after listening to the hypnotizing `Collective Dreamwish...' which contrasts this feeling with defiance. This song conveys an exhausted feeling of contentment singer Jason Lytle feels while just playing his guitar, drinking beer and counting stars all alone out in the countryside. I agree with another reviewer in that this record really does near perfection. As long as one can get used to the myriad of electronic effects the band so subtly and craftily uses, this album won't grow old. Grandaddy has not made a recording that isn't lacking; all are extremely solid. Pure bliss, this one."