Grandaddy: Sophtware Slump [Deluxe Edition]

Grandaddy
Sophtware Slump [Deluxe Edition]
Universal Music Group UK/V2 [2000; re: 2011]
(2 CD Set)








Fire Note Says: Do yourself a favor and discover Grandaddy's Sophtware Slump!

Album Review:
I know that everyone has their favorite albums that they go back to regardless of the year or current state of the music scene because these albums offer a timeless excellence that always seem hard to replicate. For me, Grandaddy's Sophtware Slump has been one of those records since it released back in 2000. It is an album that I believe gets stronger as the days pass because Grandaddy were a bit ahead of their time and, more so today, the frailness of the song structures here shine, as frontman Jason Lytle steers the ship with his engagingly soft vocals. This deluxe edition is the perfect way to catch up to the group and features two discs with the first being the album and the second disc offering up non album singles, b-sides, EP tracks and two previously unreleased demos for "Beautiful Ground" and "Hewlett’s Daughter" plus the original intro, discarded before release, of the album's opening track "He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's The Pilot". The deluxe edition is an undertaking at an almost 2 hour running time but proves well worth it upon completion, as the bonus material is much more than throwaways and almost as entertaining as the record itself. The rocking "Street Bunny" is one of these examples of a bonus song that absolutely does not fit in with the album but its high energy displays an excellent side of Grandaddy that is not heard from very often at this time. This is the reissue treatment that I wish many of my other modern favorites would follow, as the Sophtware Slump once again not only proves itself as a champion but Grandaddy showcases how talented they really were with all the included stellar extras!

Key Tracks: "Street Bunny", "The Chrystal Lake", "Broken Household Appliance National Forest"

Bands With Similar Fire:
The Flaming Lips
Mercury Rev
The Shins

Jason Lytle: Yours Truly, The Commuter [Fire Note Review 5/18/09]

Grandaddy Website
Grandaddy Facebook
Universal Music Group
V2 Music

-Reviewed by Christopher Anthony