Great Grandpa released two albums at the tail end of the 2010s, both of which were among the best albums of the year. Plastic Cough is arguably the best album to end with a lengthy song about a zombie uprising that begins while you are incredibly stoned. “Four of Arrows” is an even better album with no zombies-related songs we can recall.
Great Grandpa’s music sounds so splendid, the lyrics so fantastically poetic, it’s easy to undermine their intimacy. “It’s closer when I see you, damn,” goes the hook on ‘Emma’, a highlight on their latest album “Patience, Moonbeam”, and they return to that damn for a cathartic explosion on the single ‘Doom’. The band’s first album in six years yearns and plays around for a sense of euphoria, and even if it sometimes falls short – of the feeling, not reeling you in – their synergy achieves a kind of unburdening that feels like a gift.
“All dark things in time define their meaning,” Al Menne sings on ‘Kid’, making Pat and Carrie Goodwyn’s mournful lyrics sound tenderly affirming. “And fold sharp ends/ Into their mouths.”
released March 28th, 2025
The Fat Angel Sings 