by Wade Phillips (@wade_phi)
Self-described as “the record they’ve always wanted to make,” Great Grandpa’s Four of Arrows feels like a major pivot and major milestone for the band. With 2017’s Plastic Cough supplanting Great Grandpa as a talent within the garage/grunge sector of indie music, Four of Arrows pushes their sound into a more dynamic and inherently riskier realm given the clean production and wider range in musicality (i.e. featuring piano, strings, banjo, and more dynamic arrangements). This “pivot” doesn’t feel like an unnatural departure however, especially considering the quality songwriting and moving performance from vocalist Alex Menne on this record that Great Grandpa has been known for since their first EP Can Opener in 2016.
In context of recent influences that impacted the making of Four of Arrows, songwriter and guitarist Pat Goodwin cited indie mainstays Big Thief and (Sandy) Alex G in an interview with Guitars.com. These sonic inspirations are evident from the very first moments of the album, as opener “Dark Green Water” enters with a circular winding acoustic progression that would fit at home amongst the catchiest riffs from the Alex G catalogue. While these influences are present, they’re generally obscured by the originality of the songwriting, as well as by the quality production from Mike Vernon Davis and Sam Rosson. Smartly blending both Menne and Goodwin’s voices through the opening verse, “Dark Green Water” builds to what is possibly the most climactic chorus on the record before transitioning into the emotionally challenging second track “Digger”—a song described by Goodwin as an “emotional pillar of the album”. It’s a massive opening sequence and sends a clear message: this is a band with a sound to be reckoned with.
While this opening feels more-or-less like an elevated version of the Great Grandpa sound I’ve come to know, the next few tracks quickly deviate. “English Garden” feels delicate and sophisticated and is followed by the pair of extremely catchy singles “Mono no Aware” and the country-tinged “Bloom”. Closing out side A with what serves almost as a Four of Arrows interlude, “Endling” is a piano instrumental that feels like a deep-cut from a Windham Hill sampler of George Winston ballads. The variation in feel is jarring but sets the album apart from most rock albums I’ve heard this year in how well it is executed.
“Rosalie” is another standout track featuring a dramatic intro and catchy tempo change executed all within the first minute of side B. While possibly affected by the Tom Petty lyrical reference in “Bloom,” the track “Treat Jar” sounds vaguely like a Great Grandpa cover of some unfamiliar Heartbreakers hit (in a good way). Although these tracks continue the movement away from the familiar Great Grandpa sound, there’s concrete continuity here with the band’s prior work via the inclusion of a re-recording of “Mostly Here” as the closer on Four of Arrows.
Listening through the record for the first time, a close friend used the word joy to describe the overall mood. Even at its darkest moments (and especially in its lightest moments), Four of Arrows exudes the palpable joy of a band making music at a high level—the sound that they’ve always wanted to make. The time and collaborative effort that was put into achieving that sound has certainly paid off, as it’s also a joy to listen to.