Last Place [LP]

by Grandaddy

Overview

In the ten years since Grandaddy last released an album, their guiding force, Jason Lytle, stayed busy with solo albums and other projects. When he stepped back into the cockpit to record Last Place, it was as if nothing had changed since 2006's Just Like the Fambly Cat. He was still the only member of the band writing songs and recording them. Only Aaron Burtch occasionally stopped by to add some drums. The sound of the album is very similar to where Grandaddy left off too; in fact, it's very similar to the solo albums Lytle made while the band name was on ice. A balanced amount of ballads and midtempo songs, lots of synths in the mix, Lytle's offbeat lyrical angle and plaintive vocals, the occasionally epic space opera featuring the recurring humanoid character Jed...all the hallmarks of a Lytle project are in full effect. The only question that remains to be answered is whether or not Last Place is a good or less good Lytle project. Put a big bold mark in the "good" column because thanks to a strong batch of songs and some interesting production, the record is a strong comeback. It kicks off with a trio of sleek, steady-rolling rockers that show off Lytle's pleasingly blasé singing style, his knack for an understated hook, and some fiery guitar playing. The rest of the album spools out in more expansive fashion, with more complicated arrangements on tracks like "The Boat Is in the Barn," a bouncing psych-pop tune with a weightless chorus that floats like a late-afternoon cloud formation, and a song or two that actually crank up the tempo to fast, like "Chek Injin." Plus a couple of melancholy tunes that sound like they were written sometime past 3 a.m. (especially "That's What You Get for Gettin' Outta Bed") and at least one that feels like the most blasé tune Tom Petty never wrote ("I Don't Wanna Live Here Anymore"). It makes for a diverse album within the tight framework that Lytle operates in, and even if it could have been a solo album just as easily, it works as a Grandaddy album too. If not quite as compelling overall as their best work like Sophtware Slump, it's a worthy successor to the very good Just Like the Fambly Cat and a welcome return for the "band." ~ Tim Sendra

Product Details

Release Date:	03/03/2017
Label:	30Th Century Records / Columbia / Sony Music
UPC:	0889854157517
Rank:	105218

Tracks

1. Way We Won't
2. Brush with the Wild
3. Evermore
4. The Boat Is in the Barn
5. Chek Injin
6. I Don't Wanna Live Here Anymore
7. That's What You Get for Gettin' Outta Bed
8. This Is the Part
9. Jed the 4th
10. A Lost Machine
11. Songbird Son

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Grandaddy   Primary Artist
Aaron Burtch   Drums
Kyleen King   Viola
Patti King   Violin
Lauren McShane   Cello

Technical Credits

Jim Fairchild   Group Member
John Vanderslice   Mixing
Tucker Martine   Mixing
Jason Lytle   Mixing,Editing,Composer,Producer,Group Member,Vocal Engineer,Guitar Engineer,Keyboard Engineer,Percussion Engineer
Mark Chalecki   Mastering
Kevin Garcia   Group Member
Lucky Lew   Bass Engineer,Guitar Engineer,Drum Engineering
Dan Cronin   Cover Photo
Aaron Burtch   Group Member
Tim Dryden   Group Member
Jeremy Sherrer   Drum Editing
Josh Powell   Piano Engineer,Guitar Engineer,Drum Engineering,Keyboard Engineer
Stephan Bayley   Vocal Engineer,Guitar Engineer,Drum Engineering