grandson – ‘a modern tragedy: volume 3’

By Yasmin Brown

The third in grandson’s series of modern tragedies has arrived, and while it is undoubtedly less angry than the previous two volumes, grandson still has a lot to say.

This time, the EP pulls in a theme of resignation, with opening track ‘Rock Bottom’ depicting a world in which we’ve actually descended way past rock bottom to a point that we find ourselves looking up at it. This resignation and hopelessness leads to an unwillingness to hear any more about the dire state of the world today, as the build up to the furious chorus of ‘Oh No!!!’ highlights the cyclical nature of society and the inevitable demise of the younger generations as a result.

‘Put Me Under’ goes a step further than resignation, touching on how the disturbing life we find ourselves in can push us to bury our heads in the sand so that we simply don’t have to hear any more about it. This track is sad and it is somber, vulnerable and delicate – a far cry from the grandson we’ve come to know in previous releases. It shows, that while his fury never wanes, that just like the rest of us, he can be overwhelmed by the pain so many inhabitants of our planet endure. The bridge of ‘Put Me Under’ is a highlight of this third volume; catchy while still ingraining a powerful and hard-hitting message.

Sonically, ‘Destroy Me’ follows on seamlessly, its slow and ethereal nature maintaining the feeling of loss in your chest, while also causing goosebumps through its stripped back nature, before taking us back to a more familiar grandson in the closing track ‘Die Young’, which sees him returning to his rock and hip hop roots as well as reigniting the fire and determination in both grandson and his fans. It’s a comment on the power of uniting as one, and leaves the listener feeling motivated to continue to make a change, despite the comments on resignation that appeared only minutes before. With a killer break down, it’s the perfect closing track, showing all fans that the grandson we know and love is still here. There are simply more sides to him than we perhaps imagined.

YASMIN BROWN

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