Jason Lytle
Yours Truly, The Commuter
2009
Anti-
In May 2006, the fourth and final full length LP from one of indie rock's most forward-thinking, original, and downright brilliant bands was released. Just Like The Fambly Cat was Grandaddy's swansong, but though it was met with more of the critical success that followed the band for most of their existence, it also failed once again to capture the public's attention.
Just over three years and a change of scenery later, the man most responsible for Grandaddy's electronic-infused rock is finally releasing his first of hopefully many solo albums on May 19th.
Yours Truly, The Commuter is the album Fambly Cat should have been. Not that the latter was a terrible album, but as compared to the three records preceding it, it was easily the band's weakest. It sounds just like what it was - a band at the end of their rope, tired and frustrated. It's clear right from the first listen to Yours Truly that the time spent in his new Montana home has done Jason Lytle a world of good.
This may as well be another new Grandaddy record as it's filled with Lytle's signature keyboards and guitar sounds. His airy falsetto drips with the emotion that made Grandaddy's albums so special, and though his largely downtrodden lyrics deal with familiar topics like heartbreak, failed relationships, and sadness, they also carry the same endearing, understandable, and easily relatable qualities of his best works.
Jason Lytle's lyrics have always been very personal, but that's what makes them so poignant. He pours his heart and soul into his songwriting, and his delicate voice conveys every feeling to the listener, tugging on their heartstrings with ease. Yours Truly is largely made up of ballads guaranteed to cause introspection, but in their own weird way they're uplifting - much in the same way Grandaddy's classic "O.K. With My Decay", a song about accepting the inevitability of death and rejoicing in your time, is life-affirming.
It's not all gloom and doom though. Opening with the peppy title track, Lytle immediately describes his own return to the music industry that has caused him so much joy, frustration, and sadness over the years. "I may be limpin' / but I'm comin' home," he sings over warm analog keyboards, acoustic guitar strums, and fake violins. It sounds just like vintage Sophtware Slump-era Grandaddy and features beautiful multi-tracked vocals.
The album's first single, "Brand New Sun", also features many Grandaddy-esque keyboards and guitar riffs, mixing them with an achingly gorgeous melody and lyrics about shattered dreams and new beginnings. The connection to Lytle's former band is instantly obvious, but the chorus once again imbues a feeling of joy as the protagonists start anew instead of giving up.
Even songs with seemingly silly titles belie their touching depth, evidenced by "The Ghost Of My Old Dog" where the song's protagonist is accused of infidelity when, in reality, he is simply remembering his beloved former pets. It's a simple sentiment, as anyone who has ever lost a pet can attest, but it's put forth in such a clever manner and over such lucious music that it's another one of Lytle's instant classics.
Also very Grandaddy-esque is Lytle's continuing fascination with birds, in the aptly titled "Birds Encouraged Him". Once again, Lytle sings beautiful, life-affirming lyrics - "No longer shivering from fear or cold / As birds encouraged him on life to hold." Combined with the melody, it's absolutely heart-wrenching, but in the best possible way. No matter how bad things get, this is the type of song you can put on the remind yourself that life is worth living, even when things aren't going your way.
The album does make a handful of departures that will still seem familiar to Grandaddy fans. "I Am Lost (And The Moment Cannot Last)" (track four) is a rather short, but utterly haunting ballad, driven by piano - not unlike "Underneath The Weeping Willow", but fleshed out with more instrumentation - and "It's The Weekend" (track six) is the album's lone fast-paced rock song, incredibly reminiscent of "Chartsengrafs", right down to the same keyboard sound and heavy guitars.
"Fürget It" sees Lytle return to his piano for an even more haunting and beautiful tune. The lyrics are minimal, but Lytle multi-tracks his vocals over beds of keyboards that gradually increase in volume, before quietly disappearing.
"This Song Is The Mute Button" begins with an interesting orchestral sample before veering into a stripped down piano ballad. A simple waltz pattern accompanies the singer, accented by synthesized strings.
Though I hate to continuously compare the record to works of Grandaddy's past, "Rollin' Home Alone" is also shades of "So You'll Aim Towards The Sky", The Sophtware Slump's final track. The lyrics are repeated over similar guitar chords, though it does feature more than a single refrain.
As described by Lytle during his impromptu layover performance in Detroit recently, "You're Too Gone" and "Flying Thru Canyons" run into each other to form "a big mega-epic." That might be misleading if you're expecting a grandiose explosion of rock, but given the wealth of the album's slower material that expectation seems silly. In truth, the two songs only barely run into each other, though they share similar keys and elements, but that doesn't make either of them any less powerful. "You're Too Gone" in particular is quite enough to bring tears to the eyes. Both tracks are once again heavy on the piano, but "Flying Through Canyons" adds additional elements such as keyboards and imitation horns.
The album closes with "Here For Good", another in the long line of stunning ballads that feature Lytle and his piano. Perhaps the most lyrically challenging song on the record, Jason once again juxtaposes surprisingly uplifting lyrics ("Sudden death is just boring / so I'm here for good") against a sad, somber arrangement with weepy violins.
It's difficult to be an impartial judge when you're so anxiously expecting an album, but I can say without hyperbole that Jason Lytle really knocked it out of the park with Yours Truly, The Commuter. I don't just say that as a fan, as I was one of the many who felt that Fambly Cat's bright spots were too few and far between, but as a music lover. This is the type of record that you could play for someone completely unfamiliar with Grandaddy, and they would still appreciate its charm, its depth, and its wit. If there was any doubt about whether Lytle had lost his touch as one of the most gifted songwriters in music today, this record lays them all to rest. It's an album of sheer, overwhelming honesty and beauty, and hopefully Lytle's words ring true - "I'm here for good."
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