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Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Sumday
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 26 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 19 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: V2
Release Date: 10 June 2003
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Indie, Rock
Summary
The best indie rock band to come out of Modesto, California in quite some time (well, ever, we'd think) returns with a long-awaited fourth LP, arriving a full three years after The Sophtware Slump thanks to worldwide tours and a lengthy recording process.
Also By This Artist: Excerpts From The Diary Of Todd Zilla [EP] Just Like The Fambly Cat The Sophtware Slump
Also On The Web: Official Artist Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Spin
A warm and deeply engaging snapshot of fractured relationships and existential dread. [Aug 2003, p.116]
Entertainment Weekly
The band reaffirms a gift for creating melancholic melodies that are surprisingly sturdy and self-assured. [13 Jun 2003, p.96]
Austin Chronicle
Grandaddy's third full-length is the band's Dark Side of the Moon, a musical snapshot of postmodern existence in which things are often not what they seem.
Read Full Review >Mojo
As the concerns that drive Lytle's lyrics lift out, the well-known tremulous quiver and fragile vocals become increasingly irreplaceable, the perfect medium for songs about articulating the intangible. [Jun 2003, p.94]
New Musical Express
While they still sound pretty much like Neil Young if he'd heard an Aphex Twin record, the anxieties that '...Slump' articulated have been replaced by frontman Jason Lytle's desire to address more simple matters.
Read Full Review >PopMatters
Sumday is yet another big step for Grandaddy, but like their previous effort, it's not quite perfect either.
Read Full Review >Blender
Heartbreakingly beautiful. [#17, p.140]
Splendid
One of the major differences between this and other Grandaddy releases is that Lytle finally seems comfortable in his role as production auteur.
Read Full Review >Uncut
It's a compelling psychological study set to lovely tunes. [Jul 2003, p.114]
Stylus Magazine
Musically there’s not enough variation to keep things interesting throughout.[Note: Score listed is an average of two separate reviews: a 61 and an 85]
Read Full Review >Playlouder
They're simply repainting comfortable territories with even subtler strokes than ever.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone
While the melodies have grown catchier and the arrangements more focused, [Jason] Lytle has leapt into the lyrical big leagues with unassuming songs about entropy and epiphany.
Read Full Review >Billboard
This is a surprisingly homogenous set of tunes, and on the whole, the album can make for a rather repetitive listen.
Read Full Review >Village Voice
Scattered with belated dispatches from the wreckage of the dot-bom, Sumday is knowingly archaic and all-consumingly derivative.
Read Full Review >Neumu.net
Sumday's only real flaw is the creeping sense of professionalism that is starting to emerge in the band's songwriting and playing.
Read Full Review >Flak Magazine
For every robotic quip on Sumday, there's an exposed moment of sincerity that proves it's not all Penzoil oozing from the lilting Lytle.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club)
Is so dominated by mid-tempo story-songs that it rarely breaks through into the rapturous highs that Grandaddy is capable of producing.
Read Full Review >Junkmedia
Adherence to stock chord progressions, interminably chugging guitars and a dearth of new ideas since 2000's The Sophtware Slump gives the impression that Sumday is Grandaddy-by-rote.
Read Full Review >Q Magazine
Disappointingly straight-laced. [Jul 2003, p.104]
Launch.com
The album may not improve on 2001's Sophtware Slump, but its pleasures lie in accepting reasonable underachievement, and knowing that speed kills.
Read Full Review >ShakingThrough.net
Feels stuck in a holding pattern.... A misfire from a talented band.
Read Full Review >All Music Guide
Thought-provoking and a bit of a downer in ways Grandaddy probably didn't intend, Sumday isn't a totally empty experience, but its ambitions and results don't add up as well as might have been expected.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 9.4 (out of 10) based on 19 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
R Brown gave it a10:
Three years later, the most frequently played album in the CD player. Patiently waiting for next full length release.
benjamin bunny gave it an 8:
No, it's not the mini-masterpiece that was '"The Sophtware Slump"--"Sumday" lacks the thematic cohesion and colorful analog palette that made that disc so memorable. However more homogenous the instrumentation is here, "Sumday" claims its beauty in simplicity and lyrical honesty. In songs like "I'm On Standby" and "The Final Push To The Sum," Jason Lytle's personal struggles are more straightforward or autobiographic than the more narrative-based tracks from "TSS." And frankly, despite some redundancy, "Sumday"'s warm melodies really are endlessly listenable, I've been playing this record for months now and have yet to get remotely tired of it. Recommended.
P. Jiguryo gave it a 9:
By far, one of the best albums of 2003. It ranks up there with the rest of the all-time favorites of the indie and alt-rock segment. Thanks, Lytle and the gang.
vilma gave it a 10:
year's best album... by far...
Albert Einstein gave it a 10:
I just recently discovered Grandaddy and their "Sophware Slump", so I really didn't have any particular expectations for "Sumday". Maybe that was a good thing, because I enjoyed it very much. In fact, I found it more consistent and focused than "Slump". If you're aware of Jason Lytle's influences, you shouldn't be surprised where Grandaddy's sound is heading. If you're expecting Radiohead, you will probably be disappointed. Not me. I found "Sumday" way more entertaining than Hail To The Thief. To me, the pleasures of Sumday came totally out of the blue. ;o) Guess some of the old fans will be scared away, but many new ones (like myself) will emerge. PS. John A...Actually ELO released a new record in 2001 called "Zoom". Great stuff! Now it's on! ;o)
Jeff D gave it a 10:
Unlike most great albums that take at least a couple listens to get into, this album jumps out and grabs you from the first to the last note. This is probably the only album I have ever heard that is playable for my grandparents, parents, and kids at the same time. The Sophtware Slump is a great album too, but how can anybody like that melancholic album more than a great, happy, summery album like this one.
hinko gave it a 10:
comments, comments... paint the words! paint... grandaddy is a painted landscape! sumday - what a bliss! brilliant!
