Thu 8/1 @ 8:30PM
When Alan Grandy moved to Cleveland in the ’80s, the local music scene hit the jackpot.
Grandy’s band The Terrible Parade connected him with the local college rock and folk scenes. He soon started his own label Sound of the Sea to release music by some of the outstanding folk and folk-oriented rock performers that were all over the local music scene in the early-mid ’90s. He performed with one of the best of those ensembles, the Jehova Waitresses. He released a solo album A Crown O’ Stars in 1996.
Grandy also formed a trio in the ’90s called Sputnik with Jehova Waitresses drummer Jeff Harmon and musician/studio owner Jay Bentoff on bass. It took a while for the group to release their debut I, Cosmonaut, in 2004. Underradar followed in 2008.
While Grandy’s life has gone in other directions — he’s a teacher — Sputnik hasn’t been very prolific. Luckily, they have a new album out called Rising, with Chris Solt replacing Harmon on drums.The music’s as well-crafted, well-played, engaging, and timeless as ever.
As usual, Grandy’s songs are firmly rooted in pop-oriented rock, enfolding influences reaching back to the ’60s with graceful melodies, gentle, earnest vocals, and jangling guitar that will remind you of a hundred bands and no one in particular.
Kicking off with “Solstice Song,” Grandy’s effortless vocal is cushioned in background harmonies and propelled by a typically sure-footed rhythm track.
The same elements, with Grandy’s almost conversational style of singing, combine to make a song like “Shine” achingly pretty. Even a rocker like the sprawling “Last Man on Earth” has a soft core, coating its melodic urgency in a lightly noisy texture. The more reflective songs like “Midnight Rose” and “Heaven Is In Yr Heart” really benefit from he straightforward way Grandy sings a song; there’s an honesty that repels sugary sweetness.
Grandy’s ten songs are augmented a cover of “Boiling Over “by My Dad Is Dead, a tribute to another Cleveland band making waves on the college radio scene in the ’80s. It’s just a tad edgier than the other songs on Rising, not surprising given that band’s darker orientation.
Sputnik doesn’t play all that much. So it’s a must if you like classic pop-rock to catch them at the Grog Shop this week where they’ll be playing with the Gallery, Maid Myriad, and the Singular.
Admission is $6 in advance, $8 at the door.
Cleveland, OH 44106