Review: Loser by Grumpy
By Sophie Minello
Grumpy doesn’t take themselves too seriously. It’s the project of Nashville native Mason Schmitt, and it radiates fun, silly, dancing energy. Loser, released March 27th, marks the band's debut album, showcasing just how the inner mind of Schmitt works. It begins with “Davy Jones”, a jumping tune about how technology has become such a distracting thing when trying to live your life. “You know, you spent hours watching videos and picking your nose like an idiot” Mason sings, in the point of view of a ghost looking back at their life. She has no difficulty finding humor in the things she regrets, referencing how much time she spent watching 14 year olds make slime. Some artists have attempted writing songs about such topics, however, Grumpy does it in a new way. Schmitt makes it sound funny, and weaves a small storyline into her retrospective ghost narrative. Her humor carries on intensely with the album’s third track “You Don’t Like Dogs”. Her legendary opening line to the song being: “My dog farted.” It’s a story about a crush she had who was later discovered to not like dogs! Absolutely unheard of. In a later interlude called “Doggy”, she humorously yet beautifully continues pondering this idea, the prominent lyric on this track being “Can’t believe you don’t like dogs…”
“Jeepers Creepers” was the song that sold me on the band. Released earlier as a single, her unapologetic, honest lyrics hit me hard. In this song, she explains a very shitty relationship. “I want to get to know you, instead I blow you that always works.” You can feel the longing in her melodies, and despite her savage lyrics (“You’ve got such a hard on for yourself… if there were two of you, you’d fuck yourself”), it’s quite a sad song. However, you know she’s being empowered by yelling out her lyrics, processing the emotions through music, and hopefully knowing she’s so much cooler than the creep she’s writing about. The other album single, “Space Cadet” is quite the opposite from this song. It describes a very happy, healthy relationship. “I just wanna do my best, this is what you’re in for, for the rest of this partnership, which I hope never ends. Because I’m sometimes a mess, and when I’m with you I feel like I’m the best.” She goes through her flaws, but also highlights her lovely qualities. Grumpy’s brand seems to be a little self deprecation focused (their instagram and bandcamp are Grumpyismyleastfavoriteband), but this song -- and person -- seem to bring out the best in Schmitt. We love the character growth.
Mid album, she hits you with the “In-Between Song”. This lovely little tune serves as an interlude and is something I can highly picture being featured in an Adventure Time episode. Schmitt kindly thanks the audience and hopes they are proud of her. You really understand who Schmitt is in this song, because not many artists would thank their listeners mid album. She’s a gal of character.
The second half of the album brings it down a notch. “Weight of it All”, “Loser”, and “Trying” are slower tunes, showing how Grumpy isn’t only a silly band, but also a very contemplative one as well. “What hurts is you don’t see I’m trying… it’s not completely your fault, it’s the weight of it all”, she sings. Loser is a collection of diary entries, reflecting a mood in both the lyrics and melodies and instrumentals. These are slice-of-life songs that can be related to tons of different people with different experiences. It’s an album that you can connect to at any moment.
Grumpy is a band you want to be friends with. You know you’ll share fun stories and have good chats about life with. I hope Loser is the first conversation of many, and Grumpy will continue with her fun, heartstring-pulling, beautiful storybook.
