Grandaddy premiered their new album ‘THE SOPHTWARE SLUMP’ at the Brighton Pressure Point last night, their first UK gig since last summer.
The low-key gig served as a warm-up for the five piece from Modesto, California’s one-off gig tonight (April 12) at London Dingwalls. The band – still with three beards intact – then return next month for a UK and Ireland tour.
The gig was low-key in more ways than one, through lead singer Jason Lytle saying very little in a very quiet voice between songs that was virtually unintelligible. Instead, he let the songs, a beautiful, bittersweet blend of folk, grunge and lo-fi spacerock, speak for themselves.
As well as playing first new single from the album ‘Crystal Lake’, out on May 29 through V2, the band played a host of other new tunes from the forthcoming album, including the heavy groover ‘Chartsengrafs’, the mournful folk of ‘Underneath The Weeping Willow’ and the haunting ‘Miner At The Dial-A View’.
Previous NME Single Of The Week ‘Summer Here Kids’ also received an airing for the band’s encore which received an ecstatic welcome from the crowd.
The band’s new album, the follow-up to their debut ‘Under The Western Freeway’, is out on May 8, also through V2.
The full dates for the UK and Ireland Grandaddy tour are: Belfast Morrisons (May 19), Dublin Music Centre (20), Glasgow King Tuts (21), Manchester Hop And Grape (21), London Electric Ballroom (25), Leicester Princess Charlotte (26), Sheffield Leadmill (27) and Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms (28).
For tickets, go to the nme.com Ticketshop – click here
Or call the NME 24-Hour Ticketline on 0870 1 663 663. Calls are charged at national standard rate.