Grandaddy- Sumday V2 2003

Pitchfork

"Pastoral, sanguine, and oddly buoyant, the album is far less sinister (and certainly less adventurous) than Grandaddy's former studio experiments, but still comes complete with its own curious set of demands: the first six songs are strikingly (and, presumably, deliberately) similar in timing, tone and strum. Luckily, the band avoids the sameness that often comes with such a consecutive string of spacious midtempo pop songs; instead, the effect is a dreamily cohesive half-hour of music, the perfect extended metaphor, a big warm blanket to curl up in and chew on."

The Guardian

"Here, honey-throated, simple-hearted frontman Jason Lytle is still grappling with the uneasy relationship between science and nature - in I'm on Standby, he plays a sad computer, full of human frailties in an inhuman environment - but now he is deconstructing the deadening depression of success."

Indie London

"Kicking off with the brilliant first single, Now It's On, which captures the brighter outlook of the band in lyrics such as 'I got not reason to be weathered and withery, like in the season of the old me', the album then proceeds to deliver a laidback journey through some of the best space-rock since last year's equally sumblime Flaming Lips album."

BBC

"Sumday takes up the brilliance of the band's last album, The Sophtware Slump, and runs headlong down a sun-beaten coast with it, picking up gentle melodies and angelic harmonies along the way."

Play Louder

Heresay

"There's just something about the songs: they're a little rough around the edges, but really sweet at their core. I think you've mastered that technique. But on your new album, Sumday, it seems like you're treading water."

Drowned in Sound

"Y'see, "Sumday" is all about 'busting the lock off the front door' (new single "Now It's On"), cracking open the shell of solitude and going trekking in the sun. At its best, it's like walking on a beach eating an everlasting packet of cold Skittles, but mostly the record meanders around the same beats, same chord patterns and without a lot of the touching nuances which we grew to love them for. The lazy, hazy acoustics of "I'm On Standby" just underwhelm. The band have moved on to a slightly more guitar based sound, but forgotten to take the killer tunes."

Article Author: Jen Rajkowski

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