Cool Band Alert - Your Grandparents

Wisdom From the Elders

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Name: Your Grandparents
From: Los Angeles, California
Members: DaCosta (vocals), Jean Carter (vocals), Cole Thompson (producer)
RIYL: NxWorries, The Love Below, Maxwell, Jamila Woods, The Roots, Curtis Harding
The Gist: Rap and soul on a night out at the rock club.

Your Grandparents chose their name “as a nod to the elders who introduced us to classic artists,” but their sound is firmly rooted in the right now. The Dial, their upcoming release on drink sum wtr, is a giddy collision of jazz, hip-hop, and R&B that finds room for a dash of indie rock here (“BAD NEWS”), a pinch of ‘90s pop there (“Hypnotized”). The production and instrumentation throughout is crisp and muscular—it’s like unexpectedly stumbling into a jazz club to discover the world’s tightest soul band onstage mid-groove, fully locked in. DaCosta and Carter swing nimbly from rapid-fire bars to smooth, gliding melodies—“Be Cool” is a peak example of both, calling to mind The Roots circa Rising Down. The album’s title is a reference to the passing of time; its contents ensure Your Grandparents plan to make the most of theirs.

The Dial is out May 16th on drink sum wtr. Pre-order it.

Dig this record and want more like it?

Your Grandparents are just one of many artists ushering in a new age of hip-hop and R&B—not just in the U.S., but in Germany, Argentina, and the UK, too. And speaking of the UK: The jazzy undercurrents of Your Grandparents’ sound can be found aplenty on the long-running, aptly named label Jazz re:freshed. If your tastes lean more to the R&B end of things, you should know that drink sum wtr, who is set to release Your Grandparents’ LP, have been killing it on that front lately. And if you’re looking for more albums that cannily fuse jazz and soul, might we humbly suggest the latest from Yazz Ahmed, THEY., and Los Yesterdays?

Listening Party Picks, May 15th-21st

Come hang in the chat with artists hosting album listening parties for their fans on Bandcamp this week.

May 15th, Tanika Charles for Reasons to Stay. RSVP.
May 15th, Roel Funcken for Flyphel. RSVP.
May 15th, Erin Durant for Firetrail. RSVP.
May 17th, Pedro the Lion’s 30th Anniversary Show. RSVP. [Livestream]
May 18th, Super XX Man for Rusted Hues. RSVP.
May 18th, Val Emmich for Here Comes the Dark. RSVP.
May 19th, BED for everything hurts. RSVP.
May 20th, Phi-Psonics for Expanding to One. RSVP.
May 20th, The Northern Territories for A Star in Orbit Still. RSVP.
May 21st, Abdullah Miniawy for Peacock Dreams أَحْلَامُ الطَّاوُوسِ. RSVP.
May 21st, DSCI4 for Nocturnal Frequencies. RSVP.
May 21st, The Minus 5 for Oar On, Penelope! RSVP.
May 21st, Kipp Stone for I Ain’t Want Nothin’. RSVP.

For all upcoming listening parties, go here.