Stream new LP from Haley Bonar’s side project Gramma’s Boyfriend (LP Release + Costume party show TONIGHT!)

by josh keller · Published October 29, 2015 · Updated October 30, 2015

Most people know Minnesota singer/songwriter Haley Bonar for her lush, pretty and gentle solo work, but over the last few years she has shown another (musical) side with her side project Gramma’s Boyfriend. Joined by Jeremy Ylvisaker (Cloak Ox, Andrew Bird), Mark Erickson (Cloak Ox), Luke Anderson (Rogue Valley) and Jacob Hanson (Actual Wolf, Haley Bonar), the band create a hazy blend of chugging new-wave, angular post-punk and garage pop that scratch a much different itch than Bonar’s solo work. Fleshed out with a full band, Bonar is left to simply ride the well-manicured rock that is quite a bit more lively and bombastic than her solo work. The gentlemen who create the landscapes are pros pros, and while this isn’t as much of genre flip for them (especially for the guys in Cloak Ox, who venture all over the map), the slick and poppier music probably stretches each as well. Most “fun” side projects end up being simply loud and boisterous, and while Gramma’s Boyfriend go there, especially on the fuzzy and chaotic “Deep V” and “Bury the Hatchet”, they also spend good chunks of the LP exploring kitschy, overblown and angularly melodic musical undercurrents. It is music that I imagine was as fun to make as it is to listen to. Dig and buy their entire new LP Perm, out now on Graveface Records, below. The band are playing a release show and costume party tomorrow night, Friday, Oct. 30th at Icehouse with fellow overblown guitar pop enthusiasts Suzie…more details and tickets can be found HERE.

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