Grandson, 26, is a Canadian raised Alt-Rock artist currently residing in Los Angeles, CA. He has never been one to shy away from making stabs at the current political climate in his music, and his newest release Identity is no different. This track was released June 26th, 2020 after fans had been teased with cryptic hints Grandson dropped for weeks after taking a short hiatus from all social media avenues. Members of his fan-base from around the world spent this time digging for clues and waiting on pins & needles for the release of this new single, which seems to be the birth of a new era for the artist and is expected to lead up to the eventual release of a full length studio album.
The track Identity opens with a distorted, melancholy guitar riff that echoes through the duration of the song. After a slow intro, Grandson drops in with the line “Nobody ever cared so it never really mattered/It never really mattered so it never really happened” and continues through the verse, touching on ideas reminiscent of searching for hope in a seemingly hopeless atmosphere; one of broken promises and pipe dreams.
"...touching on ideas reminiscent of searching for hope in a seemingly hopeless atmosphere."
A brief pause boils with a chord hanging on the last line of the verse, then suddenly the chorus drops with the line “One false move you’re Kennedy,” yelling out over a rugged guitar and gnarled electronics. There’s no longer any question as to whether this is another one of Grandson’s quintessential political anthems. While the track touches on mainstream politicians such as “The fake tan on the TV,” and corrupt policies & practices of people in power referenced in the second verse, there is still the underlying theme of searching for an internal sense of meaning through all that’s going on externally.
The next verse is a potent rap, one that’s laden with references to current events. There’s no room for debating what side of the political spectrum the artist falls on, and the way he makes eloquent digs at amoral power holders is commendable. The lines “I just wanna be optimistic/My sanity’s gone off ballistic” wrap back around to the dichotomy of trying to find your own opinions and standpoints in the midst of a world attempting to blatantly control so much of your life.
With the melodic intro, a cutting chorus, a potent rap verse and the electronically charged bridge that threatens to take your breath away, it’s evident that this song is incapable of being bound by one genre. From alternative to hip hop, Grandson attracts listeners with expertly crafted sound, but, he keeps their attention with his poetic way of putting into words what so many of us are feeling, in a way that’s easy to identify and resonates across borderlines and backgrounds. While the song builds up to a captivating climax, it drops off abruptly. Whether the track is intentionally met with such a blatant end to leave us wanting more, or simply to leave room for the next single, dedicated fans are chomping at the bit to see what comes next in this new age of music from Grandson that seems to be driven by desire for political revolution and attempting to find oneself in the midst. Grandson has more than left his mark on fans after his Modern Tragedy installments, and this upcoming era is off to a well founded start.
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