It was 2006 when unfortunate and tired Jason Lytle decided to impede the work of the group called Grandaddy. Over the following period, he charged his batteries, and dropped two solo releases and one album as the main vocal of the band Admiral Radley. Persuaded by the colleague from Grandaddy, they came together again in 2012, mainly because of the concert tours. Still, that is when the idea about the new record came alive.
After 10 year hiatus, they have offered the world their fifth full-length studio album. The overwhelming impression is that they are just continuing where they have stopped. Last Place includes twelve new songs, very diverse and eclectic. The style moves from frenetic pop a la The Flaming Lips, across alternative indie pop of Super Furry Animals, all the way to the lo-fi pop aesthetic on a trace of Sparklehorse. Lytle is a mastermind when it comes to creation of true pop melodies with intelligent arrangements and the use of instrumental sections in appropriate amounts. His skill and originality culminate on this record.
It is difficult to resist the first three songs that put attractive synth elements in the first plan. When you add passionate guitar riffs and mellow vocal of Californian musician, it comes as no surprise that the opening is highly irresistible. The Boat Is In The Barn sounds like a modern, neo-psychedelic reading of The Beatles sound, while the hyper-dynamic Check Injin stands as Granddaddy’s version of garage rock.
Until the end of the record, the passion is slowly turning down, and the intersection of melancholy and sadness takes over. I Don’t Wanna Live Here Anymore, This Is The Part, A Lost Machine and Songbird Son are all enriched with gorgeous, harmonic melodies. Lytle succeeded to create a perfect balance between a meticulous production and independent experimentation by serving abundance of mid-tempo numbers. This is another high quality album by Grandaddy. Let’s just hope we won’t have to wait another decade for its successor.
