Sumday
by Grandaddy
  • Record Label: V2
  • Release Date: Jun 10, 2003
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 26 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 26
  3. Negative: 0 out of 26
  1. Spin
    100
    A warm and deeply engaging snapshot of fractured relationships and existential dread. [Aug 2003, p.116]
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  2. Entertainment Weekly
    91
    The band reaffirms a gift for creating melancholic melodies that are surprisingly sturdy and self-assured. [13 Jun 2003, p.96]
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  3. Austin Chronicle
    89
    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.
  5. Pitchfork
    81
    Sumday is all glorious, throbbing heart.
  6. New Musical Express (NME)
    80
    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sound pretty much like Neil Young if he'd heard an Aphex Twin record, the anxieties that '...Slump' articulated have been replaced by frontman Jason Lytle's desire to address more simple matters.
  7. PopMatters
    80
    Sumday is yet another big step for Grandaddy, but like their previous effort, it's not quite perfect either.
  8. Blender
    80
    Heartbreakingly beautiful. [#17, p.140]
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  9. Splendid
    80
    One of the major differences between this and other Grandaddy releases is that Lytle finally seems comfortable in his role as production auteur.
  10. Ink 19
    80
    Grandaddy's mellowest, most cohesive material to date.
  11. Mojo
    80
    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]
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  12. Uncut
    80
    It's a compelling psychological study set to lovely tunes. [Jul 2003, p.114]
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  13. Stylus Magazine
    73
    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]
  14. Flak Magazine
    70
    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.
  15. Dot Music
    70
    It's just not quite as great as some of us dared to hope.
  16. Neumu.net
    70
    Sumday's only real flaw is the creeping sense of professionalism that is starting to emerge in the band's songwriting and playing.
  17. Billboard
    70
    This is a surprisingly homogenous set of tunes, and on the whole, the album can make for a rather repetitive listen.
  18. Village Voice
    70
    Scattered with belated dispatches from the wreckage of the dot-bom, Sumday is knowingly archaic and all-consumingly derivative.
  19. Dusted Magazine
    70
    This album's problem is a very, very shoddy sequence.
  20. The A.V. Club
    70
    Is so dominated by mid-tempo story-songs that it rarely breaks through into the rapturous highs that Grandaddy is capable of producing.
  21. Playlouder
    70
    They're simply repainting comfortable territories with even subtler strokes than ever.
  22. Rolling Stone
    70
    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.
  23. Launch.com
    60
    The album may not improve on 2001's Sophtware Slump, but its pleasures lie in accepting reasonable underachievement, and knowing that speed kills.
  24. Q Magazine
    60
    Disappointingly straight-laced. [Jul 2003, p.104]
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  25. Junkmedia
    60
    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.
  26. ShakingThrough.net
    60
    Feels stuck in a holding pattern.... A misfire from a talented band.
  27. AllMusic
    60
    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.

Awards & Rankings

83
#83 Most Shared Album of 2003

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 22 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 22
  3. Negative: 2 out of 22
  1. RBrown
    Mar 13, 2006
    10
    Three years later, the most frequently played album in the CD player. Patiently waiting for next full length release.
  2. benjaminbunny
    Nov 4, 2003
    8
    No, it's not the mini-masterpiece that was '"The Sophtware Slump"--"Sumday" lacks the thematic cohesion and colorful analog palette 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.… Full Review »
  3. P.Jiguryo
    Jul 26, 2003
    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, 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.… Full Review »
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