Grandaddy have released a new version of their song “The Crystal Lake,” with the reimagined track performed on a wooden piano. The song comes off their upcoming album, The Sophtware Slump ….. on a wooden piano, which is in celebration of their sophomore album, The Sophtware Slump‘s 20th anniversary, and features all of the tracks from the 2000 album performed on a wooden piano.
A 20th anniversary 4xLP of The Sophtware Slump will be released on November 20, with the wooden piano version of the album released digitally on the same day. The Sophtware Slump ….. on a wooden piano will also be released in physical formats on February 19, 2021. Discussions to play the album on a wooden piano began a few years ago, with the band hoping to hear “the totality of that original vision” for what the album could be.
“With the scope of what Grandaddy has done and what Jason has done in his career, I thought there was room to pay greater attention to my favorite view of him, which is as a songwriter” Grandaddy guitarist, Jim Fairchild, said in a press statement.
“The Crystal Lake” depicts soft harmony and emotional tones. Jason Lytle’s sweet vocals create the image of searching for the crystal lake. The piano evokes the lost feeling and regret that saturates the lyrics found in “The Crystal Lake.” Ltyle sings how he wants to return to the crystal lake, describing that “it’s shining like a chandelier/Shining somewhere far away from here here.” His heartfelt tone takes on a completely contrasting sound from the song’s original version, where Lytle mumbles and moans the lyrics in the song’s indie-rock style.
The original version of the track, which had been released in 2000, highlights the band’s lilting indie sound. The drums and guitar sway while the bass thrums, an electronic keyboard creating dancing scales. Lytle takes on a more teasing tone as he weaves through the songs lyrics, the repeated “I gotta get out of here” sounding as if it were a more sudden realization, rather than the somber one in the new recording.
In 2017, Grandaddy released a 20th anniversary edition of their debut album, Under The Western Freeway. The band’s bass player, Kevin Garcia, passed away due to a stroke in 2017. That same year saw the release of Grandaddy’s most recent album, Last Place.