Perched between innovation and annoyance is Granddaddy. The first eight minutes of Sophtware Slump are droney, whiny, and high-pitched. Then we get songs about humanoids ditched by their creators, and lost loves inscrutable to magic viewing machines. Sonically the album is a lot like OK Computer, but the concept is Gary Numan (if he was an ironic American). It lacks the vision of either band/artist, but there's more humor, and a rustic warmth. Something weird emerges from the mix – patently absurd tales sung over genuinely affecting soundscapes. Frisson is the word for it, and while it makes everything a bit flighty, at least the album's fun to hear, and not an invitation to take the world on your shoulders.

2005-08-31 - Kent Conrad

track list He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's The Pilot Hewlett's Daughter Jed The Humanoid The Crystal Lake Chartsengrafs Underneath The Weeping Willow Broken Household Appliance National Forest Jed's Other Poem (Beautiful Ground) E. Knievel Interlude (The Perils Of Keeping It Real) Miner At The Dial-A-View So You'll Aim Toward The Sky