Three years after the breakup of Grandaddy, Jason Lytle returns with
a collection of dreamy pop songs about nature and modernity, bathed in
quirky pathos. Sounding very much like a new Grandaddy album, Lytle’s
solo debut waltzes between tempered exhilaration and grandiose
gloominess with a winning bipolar swagger.
The album starts strongly. “Yours Truly, The Commuter” is a
rollicking reintroduction of Lytle, complete with a quasi-celebratory
chorus: “I may be limping / But I’m coming home.” “Brand New Sun” is
perfectly mixed with streaky synth blasts and fuzzy guitar, while
“Ghost of My Old Dog” (among the year’s best titles) is a rowdy salute
to loneliness.
Lytle has a tender spot for mellower moods. The trouble is that
Lytle’s slower songs often forgo rich arrangements in favor of dour
repetition, particularly without the balance of his bandmates. After a
bouncy opening trio, eight of the final nine songs hover between
midtempo and ballad. Luckily, Lytle’s songwriting abilities are strong
enough to sustain the downpour—evidenced on the orchestral
“Rollin’ Home Alone” or atmospheric closer “Here for Good.” Still, the
hushed “Fürget It” and the plaintive “You’re Too Gone” make a case
for revving up the guitars a bit more.
Not surprisingly, Lytle’s debut ultimately sounds like Grandaddy
stripped down: a musical landscape where synths flutter over Lytle’s
intoning vocals, while guitars are crunched or quietly strummed;
drumming, when employed, is adequate. It’s a nice place to visit
occasionally, but you wouldn’t want to live there.
This article appears in Jul 16-22, 2009.
