A confident debut from the well regarded Bristol rockers.
Grandmas House are a fine indie-rock band from Bristol, who lean into a bit of grunge. Most obviously, in Yasmin Berndt’s voice, who somehow manages to channel the spirit of Kurt Cobain at times. A visit to this Grandmas House is less sweets and chocolate cake and more likely a wolf disguised as Grandma trying to eat you. Not that the band aren’t a lovely bunch, just that they have a real intensity about them when the mood takes them.
There is a real feeling of predator and prey about this album at times. In the first batch of songs it is men, or partners, being the predators. “You’re a dog with a bone and you can’t let go (‘Dog’)” and “You think you’re owed something, let me put it on a plate for you (‘Table’).” Yet if you were thinking this is just going to be an album of righteous feminism, the protagonists of the songs prove to be as obsessive and destructive as the admirers in others. On ‘Taxidermy,’ “I want to wear you like a coat, I don’t want to let you go, I don’t want to be alone.” On ‘Soaked,’ “I want to eat out of your palm. Do you want to absorb me? I want to crawl inside your brain.”
What really hits you across the album is the amazing harmonising when the whole band pull together. All of the band can sing, and different members can take on the lead vocals, most noticeably drummer Poppy Dodgson. They are rock solid musically, as anyone who has attended one of their live shows can attest to.
If you are listening to Dance and thinking that sounds quite Fat Dog, it is because Morgan Wallace guests to provides the saxophone.
“We wrote this album about the existential crisis of going through life,” explain the band. “It’s about love and infatuation but also about grief and loneliness. It’s emotional, powerful, sad and a good time all at once.”
This is a confident debut from a confident band. If they aren’t already on your radar, then they need to be. They have the potential to improve a lot, but they are already very entertaining.
Essential Tracks: ‘Baby You’re A Winner,’ DOG,’ ‘Blue Oblivion,’ ‘The Table,’ ‘Dance,’ Taxidermy’ and ‘Spring.’
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