Sophtware Slump
By pledging allegiance to old-time country music, 1960s power pop, and cheesy '70s electronic music, Grandaddy create an unlikely merger that, when it works, recalls the poppier elements of theFlaming Lips("The Crystal Lake"). At other times ("He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot"), you might hear the rustic charm ofPalaceshot through with a dose ofKraftwerk. Much like, say, Mark Linkous (who helmsSparklehorse), Grandaddy mastermind Jason Lytle camps out in a remote part of the world (Modesto, California, in his case) and then transmits his off-kilter observations with a minimum of fuss. He can be poignant (the piano ballad "Underneath the Weeping Willow") or too clever for his own good ("Broken Household Appliance National Forest," a love song to technology's grimier half). But then just as Grandaddy mix disparate musical influences, they also jam together in-jokes on top of pathos.--Rob O'Connor