“David Died” is the second single from Grady Philip Drugg’s new album “4”. It begins and we’re immediately met with an unmistakable laid-back alt-folk lilt. Acoustic strumming and a clean sounding shimmery lead guitar line are accompanied by a vocal that comes across a bit like Ryan Adams meets Wayne Coyne, with maybe a touch of the Daniel Johnstons. Later on in the song we’re introduced to some glorious organ and some more ambitious guitar parts – there’s a Neil Young-style roots rock tone to the latter part of the song that rounds it off rather neatly.
Lyrically, the storytelling here is poignant and well-thought out and creates an instant sense of familiarity (indeed I’m sure the sentiment here will resonate with many of us). This is a tender and touching ode to a dear departed friend. A beautiful tribute that I’m sure David would’ve approved of. By the time the 3 minutes of the song have elapsed you feel like you have got to know David yourself and will no doubt find yourself missing him too. I guess you could say there’s a David-sized hole in all of us.
On the second song here I am immediately reminded of the summery pop harmonies of The Beach Boys. And what do you know? Upon glancing at Grady’s Spotify it appears he’s a bit of a superfan. That influence bleeds through here to fantastic effect on “Got A Wild Hair”. It sparkles and thumps along with all the grace and splendour of anything from Pet Sounds with the vocal tracks combining beautifully and the retro sounding instrumentation conjuring spectres of Wilson’s long gone. Beautiful, wistful stuff.
Written by Kinda Grizzly
