Released: 29th June 2018
Rating: ★★★★★
The future is supposed to be unknown, right? If the joy is in the journey, then knowing the final destination should spoil the fun. If that’s the case, someone explain why ‘I’m All Ears’ is such a riotous blast.
Because, make no bones about it, Let’s Eat Grandma have shown us what’s coming. In a three-track blast at the front end of their second full-length, they showcase a world of youthful exuberance, glorious, carefree fun and pop nous that sets their peers back on their heels. From the audacious, warping brilliance of ‘Hot Pink’ through the glimmering ‘It’s Not Just Me’ and the con dent, empowered battle cry of ‘you got this’ in ‘Falling Into Me’, it’s a tour de force which becomes almost transcendental.
Be clear. This is all Let’s Eat Grandma. Though Rosa and Jenny have convened a council of some of pop’s brightest minds – including chief pop futurist SOPHIE and the Horrors’ master of reinvention Faris Badwan – it’s their raw attitude that ties the threads together. While ‘I’m All Ears’ may be a sonic leap from debut ‘I, Gemini’, it’s that spirit that pulls a world of different, sparkling ideas together and makes them stick.
It’s not just that run of standout singles that makes ‘I’m All Ears’ special, though. Throughout there’s a spirit of invention that refuses to be tied to any single idea. Instead of an uneven listen, it makes for a visceral breath of fresh air, sweeping through with every new offering. ‘Snakes & Ladders’ cracks like a whipped tail over smouldering embers, while ‘I Will Be Waiting’ shimmers and pounds in equal measure. In their hands, even a nine-minute plus slow-burning epic grabs the attention and holds it for keeps, as ‘Cool & Collected’, evolving and twisting throughout.
In a world packed with old, boring men pushing old, boring ideas, it’s hard not to frame Let’s Eat Grandma as an antidote. In truth, forcing them into a comparison with such mundane drudgery does them a disservice. ‘I’m All Ears’ isn’t an answer to a broken system – it’s a new set of no-rules to replace all establishment norms. Fuck expectation. Be yourself. Do what you want. It’s the future.
Stephen Ackroyd
