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- Summary: Bluegrass and new wave music are the influences on the first full-length studio release from indie rock band Grandaddy since 2017's Last Place.
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- Record Label: Dangerbird Records
- Genre(s): Pop/Rock
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Score distribution:
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Positive: 11 out of 13
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Mixed: 2 out of 13
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Negative: 0 out of 13
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Feb 16, 2024Blu Wave sounds absolutely steeped in sadness – it’s full of pedal steel guitar, luscious string arrangements and Lyttle’s fragile vocals. It is, in a word, beautiful.
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Feb 21, 2024On Blu Wav, Grandaddy’s first album in seven years, Lytle leans into bittersweet Americana twang, a natural fit for his fatally flawed, cautiously optimistic cast of characters.
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Feb 15, 2024In the main, Blu Wav is Grandaddy’s most grounded album yet, a triumph of reinvention.
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Apr 12, 2024There is a deeply set melancholy in the DNA of Blu Wav, a palpable sense of emotional exhaustion. It’s there in the lush, pillowy arrangements that shroud almost every track, a darkly luxurious soundscape that seems to gently beckon the listener with an outstretched hand.
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Feb 21, 2024Grandaddy’s latest feels slightly remote but wholeheartedly nostalgic, the synthesis of deeply personal loneliness and some kind of cosmic greater meaning, and all three of my theories seem perfectly suitable. Weary but still imbued with plenty of heart, Blu Wav is all you can ask for as the return of Jason Lytle’s long-running indie project.
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Feb 16, 2024If one is looking for the more adventurous and off-kilter band of their earlier days, steer clear. If it’s introspective, somewhat epic country rock balladry one desires, then Blu Wav might be just the thing. It's certainly the band's most focused record to date and if that seems a little unexciting, the emotional payoff will make it worthwhile in the end.
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Feb 15, 2024There's a lot to like here. "Bucky, Boris and Dent" aren't long for this world, but their memory lives on thanks to the song's chipper melody. It's just that a good chunk of the tracklist unfolds along a steady procession of waltzes. They're all gorgeous, too, smooth and shiny as a commemorative dinner plate. The spacey interludes will keep you on your toes, but anyone who's looking for a hoedown might get bored in a hurry.