Sumday

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}} {{Infobox album | name = Sumday | type = studio | artist = Grandaddy | cover = Sumday.jpg | alt = | released = May 13, 2003 | recorded = | studio = | genre = * Indie pop<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tinymixtapes.com/music-review/grandaddy-sumday |title=Grandaddy – ''Sumday'' <nowiki>| Music Review |</nowiki> Tiny Mix Tapes |website=Tiny Mix Tapes |accessdate=July 3, 2016}}</ref> * indie rock | length = 52:27 | label = V2 | producer = Jason Lytle | prev_title = The Sophtware Slump | prev_year = 2000 | next_title = Below the Radio | next_year = 2004 | misc = {{Singles | name = Sumday | type = studio | single1 = El Caminos in the West | single1date = August 25, 2003 | single2 = Now It's On | single2date = 2003 | single3 = I'm on Standby/Stray Dog and the Chocolate Shake | single3date = January 12, 2004 }} }}

'''''Sumday''''' is the third studio album by American indie rock band Grandaddy, released on May 13, 2003, by V2 Records. The album was released 3 years after their critically acclaimed second album, The Sophtware Slump.

The album achieved commercial success in the UK, and was well received by music critics.

== Content ==

Around about the time of the album's release, frontman Jason Lytle commented that the album "represents the closest I've been to singing in the first person, writing passionately".<ref name="The Age">{{cite news |last=Best |first=Sophie |date=July 4, 2003 |title=Everyone's Grandaddy |newspaper=The Age |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/07/04/1057179148244.html |accessdate=17 January 2012}}</ref>

== Release ==

''Sumday'' was released on May 13, 2003, by record label V2.

The album is the group's highest charting in the UK, peaking at No. 22.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/grandaddy/ |title=Grandaddy {{!}} Artist {{!}} Official Charts |website=Official Charts |accessdate=June 4, 2013}}</ref> By 2006, the album had sold 110,000 copies.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bronson |first=Kevin |date=June 5, 2006 |title=Grandaddy Leader Finally Changes His Tune on Band |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uZYxAAAAIBAJ&pg=6580,3669096&dq=grandaddy+lytle&hl=en |page=5E |accessdate=January 17, 2012}}</ref>

An expanded version of the album was released five months later, with a bonus disc of songs recorded live at the Glastonbury Festival in 2003 (tracks 1–6) as well as three tracks taken from The Black Sessions in Paris (tracks 7–9).

A 20th anniversary box set titled ''Sumday Twunny'' was released in August 2023.<ref name="PF 2023"/>

=== Singles ===

Three singles were released from the album: "El Caminos in the West", which reached No. 48 on the UK Singles Chart;<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/Style |title=The Official Charts Company - Grandaddy - El Caminos In The West |author= |date= |publisher=Official Charts Company |accessdate=2 August 2011}}</ref> "Now It's On", which reached No. 23; and "I'm on Standby".

== Critical reception == {{Music ratings | MC = 78/100<ref name="Metacritic">{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/sumday/grandaddy |title=Reviews for ''Sumday'' by Grandaddy |publisher=Metacritic |accessdate=March 15, 2015}}</ref> | rev1 = AllMusic | rev1score = {{rating|3|5}}<ref name="Phares">{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/sumday-mw0000029198 |title=''Sumday'' – Grandaddy |publisher=AllMusic |accessdate=June 4, 2013 |last=Phares |first=Heather}}</ref> | rev2 = ''Blender'' | rev2score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.blender.com/reviews/review_1883.html |title=Grandaddy: ''Sumday'' |journal=Blender |issue=17 |date=June–July 2003 |accessdate=July 6, 2016 |last=Lynskey |first=Dorian |page=140 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040607213212/http://www.blender.com/reviews/review_1883.html |archivedate=June 7, 2004 |url-status=dead}}</ref> | rev3 = ''Entertainment Weekly'' | rev3score = A−<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.ew.com/article/2003/06/13/sumday |title=''Sumday'' |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=June 13, 2003 |accessdate=May 3, 2016 |last=Kim |first=Wook |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118120218/http://ew.com/article/2003/06/13/sumday/ |archivedate=January 18, 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref> | rev4 = ''The Guardian'' | rev4score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2003/jun/06/popandrock.artsfeatures1 |title=Grandaddy: ''Sumday'' |newspaper=The Guardian |date=June 6, 2003 |accessdate=May 3, 2016 |last=Clarke |first=Betty}}</ref> | rev5 = ''Los Angeles Times'' | rev5score = {{rating|3|4}}<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-jun-15-ca-rack15-story.html |title=Grandaddy embraces acceptance |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=June 15, 2003 |access-date=May 3, 2016 |last=Hochman |first=Steve}}</ref> | rev6 = ''NME'' | rev6score = 8/10<ref name="NME">{{cite journal|url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/artistKeyname/7106 |title=Grandaddy : ''Sumday'' |journal=NME |date=June 13, 2003 |accessdate=June 4, 2013 |last=Woodhouse |first=Alan |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022130938/http://www.nme.com/reviews/artistKeyname/7106 |archivedate=October 22, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> | rev7 = ''Pitchfork'' | rev7score = 8.1/10 (2003)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/3544-sumday/ |title=Grandaddy: ''Sumday'' |work=Pitchfork |date=June 8, 2003 |accessdate=June 4, 2013 |last=Petrusich |first=Amanda |author-link=Amanda Petrusich}}</ref><br />8.4/10 (2023)<ref name="PF 2023">{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/grandaddy-sumday-twunny/ |title=Grandaddy: ''Sumday Twunny'' Album Review |website=Pitchfork |date=September 2, 2023 |access-date=September 2, 2023 |last=Gordon |first=Arielle}}</ref> | rev8 = ''Rolling Stone'' | rev8score = {{rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/grandaddy/albums/album/186923/review/5946532/sumday |title=Grandaddy: ''Sumday'' |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=June 12, 2003 |accessdate=May 3, 2016 |last=Walters |first=Barry |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007220055/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/grandaddy/albums/album/186923/review/5946532/sumday |archivedate=October 7, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> | rev9 = ''Spin'' | rev9score = A<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gxaz3RhzGKoC&pg=PA116 |title=Grandaddy: ''Sumday'' |journal=Spin |volume=19 |issue=8 |date=August 2003 |accessdate=January 17, 2012 |last=Raihala |first=Ross |page=116}}</ref> | rev10 = ''Uncut'' | rev10score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite journal |title=Grandaddy: ''Sumday'' |journal=Uncut |issue=74 |date=July 2003 |page=114}}</ref> }}

The album was well received by music critics.

''PopMatters'' viewed the album as one where Lytle had decided to "tone down on the experimentation, and concentrate on developing some terrific melodies", calling it "really the next logical step for the band". He commented on similarities to the Alan Parsons Project ("Now It's On"), ELO ("The Go in the Go-for-It") and John Lennon ("Lost on Yer Merry Way"), and noted an improvement in Lytle's songwriting.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/grandaddy-sumday |title=Grandaddy: ''Sumday'' <nowiki>|</nowiki> PopMatters |last=Begrand |first=Adrian |date=27 June 2003 |website=PopMatters |accessdate=June 4, 2013}}</ref> The ''CMJ New Music Report'' made it their 'essential release' in May 2003, calling it a "genuinely wholehearted work",<ref>{{cite journal |last=Santangelo |first=Antonia |date=May 26, 2003 |title=Grandaddy ''Sumday'' |journal=CMJ New Music Report |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r2hkDXeptRMC&q=grandaddy+%22space+rock%22&pg=PA6 |page=6 |accessdate=January 17, 2012}}</ref> and in their end-of-year review placed it at No. 7 in their list of the top albums of the year.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Borolla |first=Caroline |date=December 29, 2003 |title=CMJ Top 10 of 2003: No. 7 – Grandaddy ''Sumday'' |journal=CMJ New Music Report |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hDq_dQY-YsEC&q=grandaddy+lytle&pg=PT6 |page=7 |accessdate=January 17, 2012}}</ref> Jim DeRogatis, in his book ''Turn on Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock'', viewed the melodies as "even more effervescent and more memorable" than on ''The Sophtware Slump''.<ref>{{cite book |last=DeRogatis |first=Jim |author-link=Jim DeRogatis |title=Turn on Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock |date=January 2003 |page=557 |isbn=978-0-634-05548-5}}</ref> Sophie Best of ''The Age'' called it "another sprawling sonic Grandaddy adventure, shimmering with wistful sincerity and rural-tinged psychedelia".<ref name="The Age" /> ''NME'' gave it a grade of 8/10, writing that the songs sound "pretty much like Neil Young if he'd heard an Aphex Twin record".<ref name="NME"/> Robert Christgau of ''The Village Voice'' gave the album a one-star honorable mention rating and cited "The Group Who Couldn't Say" and "Stray Dog and the Chocolate Shake" as highlights.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=12094 |title=Grandaddy: ''Sumday'' |publisher=RobertChristgau.com |accessdate=June 4, 2013 |last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau}}</ref>

A less favorable review came from Heather Phares of ''AllMusic'', who described the record as being "bland and complacent", opining that it failed to live up to the expectations of ''The Sophtware Slump''.<ref name="Phares" /> A 2023 review of the 20th anniversary reissue from Arielle Gordon of ''Pitchfork'' described it as "wide-open" and "a prescient meditation on the need to escape" that "stood apart from its predecessors".<ref name="PF 2023"/>

== Track listing ==

{{track listing | headline = ''Sumday'' track listing | all_writing = Jason Lytle | title1 = Now It's On | length1 = 4:08 | title2 = I'm on Standby | length2 = 3:13 | title3 = The Go in the Go-for-It | length3 = 3:40 | title4 = The Group Who Couldn't Say | length4 = 4:08 | title5 = Lost on Yer Merry Way | length5 = 6:17 | title6 = El Caminos in the West | length6 = 3:22 | title7 = {{-'}}Yeah' Is What We Had | length7 = 3:45 | title8 = Saddest Vacant Lot in All the World | length8 = 3:52 | title9 = Stray Dog and the Chocolate Shake | length9 = 3:43 | title10 = O.K. with My Decay | length10 = 6:11 | title11 = The Warming Sun | length11 = 5:44 | title12 = The Final Push to the Sum | length12 = 4:24 }} {{track listing | headline = Expanded version bonus disc | title1 = The Crystal Lake | title2 = For the Dishwasher | title3 = Yeah Is What We Had | title4 = AM 180 | title5 = Our Dying Brains | title6 = Laughing Stock | title7 = The Go in the Go for It | title8 = Saddest Vacant Lot in All the World | title9 = He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot }}

== Personnel == '''Grandaddy'''

* Jason Lytle – lead vocals, guitar, various instruments, production, engineering * Kevin Garcia – bass guitar * Aaron Burtch – drums * Jim Fairchild – guitar * Tim Dryden – keyboards

'''Technical'''

* Lucky Lew – engineering * Michael H. Brauer – mixing * Nathaniel Chan – mixing assistance * Rick Chavarria – mixing assistance * Greg Calbi – mastering * Shinzou Maeda – cover photography

== Charts == {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |+ Chart performance for ''Sumday'' ! scope="col"| Chart (2003) ! scope="col"| Peak<br />position |- {{album chart|Flanders|13|artist=Grandaddy|album=Sumday|rowheader=true|access-date=September 2, 2023}} |- {{album chart|Wallonia|30|artist=Grandaddy|album=Sumday|rowheader=true|access-date=September 2, 2023}} |- {{album chart|France|44|artist=Grandaddy|album=Sumday|rowheader=true|access-date=September 2, 2023}} |- {{album chart|Ireland2|30|artist=Grandaddy|rowheader=true|access-date=September 2, 2023}} |- {{album chart|Scotland|19|date=20030615|rowheader=true|access-date=September 2, 2023}} |- {{album chart|Sweden|51|artist=Grandaddy|album=Sumday|rowheader=true|access-date=September 2, 2023}} |- {{album chart|UK2|22|date=20030615|rowheader=true|access-date=September 2, 2023}} |- {{album chart|Billboard200|84|artist=Grandaddy|rowheader=true|access-date=September 2, 2023}} |}

== References ==

== External links ==

* {{Discogs master|117203}}

Category:Grandaddy albums Category:2003 albums Category:V2 Records albums