Grandson, TEXT VOTER XX TO 40649
Fueled By Ramen

Grandson’s intense blend of alt rock, hip hop, and electro beats made for a discography scorching enough to get him a support slot at ADTR’s mammoth now-rescheduled UK outdoor shows. But on his TEXT VOTER XX TO 40649 series, Grandson gets delightfully mellow. The set of tracks address appreciation for past friendships, healing, and looking onwards through a bleak present to a brighter future – optimism that is sorely needed right now. The title resonates with Grandson’s resolve; following it will allow American fans to get updates on voter registration in the leadup to this year’s Presidential Election.

The three tracks we’ve heard so far are all based around an acoustic guitar, with three choice features too. How Bout Now is a gentle duet between Jordan Edward Benjamin (grandson) and the laidback tones of phem, a lament to being in a shitty situation but an ode to feeling comfortable reaching out and getting help from your loved ones.

Whole Lotta’s acoustic chords reverb ethereally – where How Bout Now felt lofi chilled, Whole Lotta with its gang-vocals chorus and violin interjections has the raw, tears-in-your-eyes energy of pop-punk acoustic tracks: think Neck Deep’s A Part Of Me, A Day To Remember’s If It Means A Lot To You, and the like. Whole Lotta is beautiful, melancholy, and emotional; grandson and DREAMERS collab to the greatest possible effect.

Peaches is another gorgeous variation on the acoustic track, this time with Bittersweet fav singer-songwriter K.Flay. With a serene, isolated central riff, its softly-fuzzed-out-ness makes for a milder track than Whole Lotta, the waltzing tempo and grandson and K.Flay’s interweaving falsettos charmingly chilled. “We’ll turn the pain into peaches” is the central metaphor of the track, and that’s exactly what they’ve done in creating such a smooth, sweet tune.

So TEXT VOTER XX TO 40649 basically proves that Grandson can do it all – even on an acoustic series, he’s got range. Even within each track, there’s a deliciously real cocktail of melancholy, pessimism, uplift and optimism – if this is what grandson in lockdown is bringing us, we almost want it to last forever.

TEXT VOTER XX TO 40649 tracks are out now.