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Album Details
- Artist: Grandaddy
- Album: Sophtware Slump
- Label: V2
- Year of Release: 2000
- ME Rating: Indie Classic
- Reviewed by: dscanland on 2009-06-08
RecommendI was shocked when I was looking back and saw that Grandaddy's Sophtware Slump hadn't been reviewed yet. This album is indeed a modern day classic that every indie music fan should have in their collection. Jason Lytle leads his crew into making the best album of Grandaddy's illustrious career, followed closely by Sumday.
Take the almost 9 minute opening opus, "He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's The pilot" and you'll quickly catch onto the brilliance that is Lytle's songwriting genius. It's a bit of a dirge but nonetheless, it's a song worthy of the extended listening required. The guys pick up the pace ever so slightly with "Hewlett's Daughter", one of the more uplifting piece on Slump. "The Crystal Lake" fits in the uplifting category as well, complete with some neat computer type scale runs.
I find it hard to pinpoint masterpieces on this particular album because the whole thing goes together so nicely. The production of the composition is perfectly done switching from lo-fi to wonderful stereophonic quality. If you have never heard Grandaddy then The Sophtware Slump is the place to start. A brilliant piece of work in a very impressive career.
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on 2011-11-18 CharlesMartel Said:
Jason Lytle's distinctive voice is what makes or breaks anyones opinion of Grandaddy. It certainly adds true character to any song on which he sings. That said, Grandaddy's highly-regarded album, " Sophtware Slump" is perhaps the best album the band put out. Certainly, there are people out there who adore this album and I know one who can recite every lyric on it word for word, and that is no mean feat. Yet there is something about this album which, despite the fact that it is well-performed and well-produced, leaves me feeling just a little bit discomfited.
I think the main thing is the fact that the album is a throwback, in some respects, to the prog rockers of old. Yes, you've guessed it, this is a concept album. Now, I will grant you that there are no wizards and warlocks and certainly no pretentious old gits droning on about the transcendental meaningless of existence or whatever. The theme is perhaps closest to Rush's 2112 , though shorn of the political overtones. "Sophtware Slump " is set in a world where everyone is called Jed and where forests are made out of smashed up microwaves. The album centres on the disconnect between the individual and the dehumanising society driven by technology. And the answer to all of this - " Fly Away ".
That theme has a naive simplicity about it that is not hard to find as charming. Imagine the Flaming Lips without those aspirations to pretension and you've got it bang on. So, what, if anything, is wrong? Well, I hate to have to say it, but once the opening track, " He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot" is over, nearly nine minutes of it, the rest of the album is something of a let down. I wouldn't go so far as to say it is boring, but it certainly lacks something. The more I listen to it, the more I feel the same about it as the first time I heard it, and that is unusual because, after repeated listens, I usually grow to appreciate or hate an album more and more. "Sophtware Slump" leaves me exactly where I started and that is something which I find hard to bear.
What could have been something special, therefore, has been reduced to being something rather plain in my view. Nothing really stands out as it should, once the opening track is over, and listening to the album becomes rather commonplace as it progresses.
Rating: 6/10
