Patience, Moonbeam

In putting out yet another accomplished record, Great Grandpa prove that neither time nor space can keep them from doing what they always do.

Album highlight “Ladybug” opens with a trip-hoppy buzz that falls into a swirling mix of a dancing piano and mountaintop-high vocals. (Even the soft popping of the interlude “Kiss the Dice” has its place.) Balancing out these turns are softer, more gracious tracks, yet ones that are no less rewarding. Vital to this success are Menne and Goodwin’s vocals, which have never sounded so assured.

Great Grandpa has returned with their career statement. Patience, Moonbeam, their first album in over five years, isn’t just their most fully-realized piece of work (though it’s also that), it’s also a genuine band record.

Off-kilter rhythms and dark thundercloud choirs may occasionally spell doom, and the incessant shrieking of the newborn in the next room may keep you up all night, but the album’s captivating parlor trick is its ability to stand confidently in fire and brimstone and smile through the rupturing of its eardrums.

It’s a collage of striking songs from a band that may have shied away from making some tough calls about what to cut and what to lean into during the long process of self-recording.