It
is officially impossible to talk about Let’s
Eat Grandma without pointing out how young they are (every review,
article, etc does it) so I’ll get that out the way. The duo – Rosa Walton and
Jenny Hollingworth – are both still in their teens (born at the dawn of the
millennium: gulp), and this is already their second album. So… young. The things is, while Let’s Eat Grandma’s first record, 2016’s I, Gemini,
felt like an album that was good given that it was made by two 16 year olds (it
had promise but was all glitz, twee and unfiltered sandpit-playing), I’m
All Ears is just a fantastic album entirely irrespective of the age of its
authors. An astronomical leap forward, this record seamlessly melds synthpop,
indie rock, psych-prog and dance. Walton and Hollingworth have ended up with
something great. The shuddering tech-doom of discordant instrumental opener
‘Whitewater’ sounds like a Nine Inch
Nails intro, track two ‘Hot Pink’ is a greasy, evil pop song, while track
three ‘It’s Not Just Me’ is pure candyfloss pop. And that’s all just in the
first three songs. Elsewhere, we get pizzicato musings on ‘Missed Call (1)’,
art guitar jangles on ‘Cool & Collected’, and an 11-minute indie-prog epic,
‘Donnie Darko’, to close the album. This record heralds the arrival of two major
new talents, and there is so much scope for more given the range of things they’ve
shown they can turn their hands to here. The first absolutely essential album
on this year’s list.
sample track: Donnie Darko