Grandaddy formed in 1992, the band led by main writing talent Jason Lytle, and split in 2006. We were a little surprised to see this appear, as we thought they’d gone forever. Their popularity can be seen by the fact that — presumably before hearing a note — at least one UK festival has booked them. Lytle has promised at least one more album, too.

We were never massive fans, but we have to say that this album seems very good; whether fans will agree we’re not sure. It’s possibly more sprightly and poppier than the earlier work. We’ve played it a lot and have grown to quite love it.

The openers Way We Won’t and Brush With The Wild are both bright-eyed pop tunes, somewhere between Fountains of Wayne and Wilco. Way We Won’t is about living on the roof of a big box store (“Tropical smells and back-to-school sales/ Why would we ever move?”) while Brush about a great relationship the narrator would like to rekindle but can’t summon the enthusiasm to leave more than a half-assed phone message. Very Grandaddy. Evermore has the catchy chugginess of that rare thing, a good Stereophonics tune.

The Boat Is In The Barn is about a narrator watching his ex delete photos of him from her phone; after the brisk first three tracks it’s a bit more downbeat, while Chek Injin sounds like a dry attempt at a road-trip punk tune.

Fans will be pleased to know it’s all as world-weary as before, I Don’t Wanna Live Here Anymore and That’s What You Get For Gettin’ Out of Bed are as they sound.

An early contender for album of the year.

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