Album of the Week: I’m All Ears — Let’s Eat Grandma
The debut release from Rosa Walton and Jenny Hollingworth, the two halves of the band Let’s Eat Grandma, was critically lauded and received endorsement from some of the most notable names in music journalism. Two years later, and we have a new album from them. But, just how far have they come?
Many young girls will relate to the frustration of not being taken seriously by adults, but this was the exact opposite issue for duo Rosa Walton and Jenny Hollingworth. “They thought everything we did was serious”, Jenny told the BBC, “Was it frustrating? Yes”, Rosa says, and it is easy to see why. Their quirky, dark sense of humour is evident in everything they do, from their name, ‘Let’s Eat Grandma’ — a morbid grammatical joke — to their eccentric live performance style, it has consistently been a part of their charm. To misunderstand this would be to misunderstand the band themselves, as many seemed to do, and they have been described as “freaky teenagers” whilst their debut album, I, Gemini, was described as “weirdo pop”, despite all the critical acclaim. However, with the release of their second project, this is starting to change. Two years on since the first LP, I’m All Ears is melodically expansive, self-assured, and shows just how far they’ve come.
Although the high pitch of their voices betrays their youthfulness, this doesn’t detract from the daringly experimental nature of their music. The opener, ‘Whitewater’, is a perfect example of this: it begins with a dark 80s synth pop instrumental that swells into an epic dreamscape, before finally dying down again, with eerie violins featuring throughout. The lead single, ‘Hot Pink’, is a stunning anthem about the power of embracing both masculinity and femininity: “I’m just an object of disdain to you” they say to an unknown antagonist, “I’m only seventeen”. The SOPHIE influence is clear on the chorus, as the band cry “hot pink” over monstrous, crunching synths that invoke the sound of broken glass, whilst sprinkling in a Sleigh-Bells-esque playfulness at other moments. The lyrics, “Hot pink / On my pony in the sky”, paint a stereotypically feminine image, but the industrial, synth-heavy production reflects a strength that only heightens the song’s sense of depth and complexity.
After the promising lead single, the third single, ‘It’s Not Just Me’, doesn’t quite hit the same sweet spot. The glitchy production is bland in comparison, with very little change in pace throughout the track; however, the lyrics about a blossoming romance are universally relatable, declaring “It’s not just me / I know you’re feeling the same way” on the chorus. Thankfully, ‘Falling Into Me’ is more impressive, with vast synths once again and dramatic drums, the duo sing about getting over fears and taking control in a relationship. The contrast between the defiant “you, me, this” and the rushed “To know whatever we know we should just say”, demonstrate the band’s confrontational approach on this album, particularly when compared to the first. It is clear that they refuse to be underestimated.
Underestimating Hollingworth and Walton is something that becomes even harder to do upon hearing ‘Snakes and Ladders’. Here, they stray from the synth-heavy theme into melancholic guitar that still sounds reminiscent of an 80s sci-fi movie, but manifests as part of a rambling ballad with surreal lyricism. ‘I Will Be Waiting’ is similarly dark, with eerie backing vocals and organs. Most of the song has an overwrought sense of urgency and it’s not until the outro, where everything is “figured out”, that the song becomes upbeat.
The two interludes are much less heavy, but ‘Missed Call (1)’ still has an anxiety-inducing air — with each staccato note becoming more and more erratic, it is no wonder that they didn’t pick up the phone. ‘The Cat’s Pyjamas’ features a cats purr, which, whether you find it unnerving or relaxing, is a perfect example of the band’s playful approach to music that can be found in almost every track.
Initially, on ‘Cool and Collected’, you could be fooled by the stripped back production into thinking that the song is just that. In reality, the lyrics reveal that this is something Hollingworth and Walton only strive to be as they sing about an unrequited romantic obsession. ‘Ava’, the fourth single from the album, is honest and intimate, with the combination of vocals and piano making the subject matter even more impactful. Following this, the final song ‘Donnie Darko’, is an eleven-minute epic, beginning as an electric indie-pop tune and building into an electronic reimagining of M83's ‘Outro’, before winding back again.
Their age is something Let’s Eat Grandma have been forcibly reminded of by critics and music journalists since the advent of their musical career. “You’re either gonna be shot down or, when you do really well, people are gonna obsess over the fact that you’re young and female”, Jenny says, but the maturity and complexity of their most recent release leaves no room for condescension. Instead, these two teenagers demonstrate that as much as there is to learn from the adults around them, those adults could learn a thing or two from them as well.
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