According to Grandson, the central theme of INERTIA, his third studio album, is a “growing need for class solidarity”. As he explains, this can only be achieved when people realise that, regardless of where they stand on the political spectrum, it ultimately benefits everyone if power is concentrated in the hands of the many rather than the few.
This concept is paired with music that gets the heart racing before the mind even has time to catch up: towering, heavy riffs, furious, pulsating rap, soaring choruses - all driven by the belief that music fighting for social justice should sound like a battle cry, a philosophy that runs through everything Grandson does on INERTIA.
Unlike his previous two albums, which featured a wide range of collaborators, most of the tracks on INERTIA were written over the course of just a few weeks with a small circle of close friends in their home studio - including No Love and Maxwell Urasky - while additional songs were penned by touring guitarist Leo Varella. Alongside the writing process, Grandson spent months studying bands that managed to carry powerful messages to mass audiences, such as Rage Against The Machine, System of a Down and Green Day, as well as acts known for filling stadiums with their raw, visceral rock sound - Foo Fighters, Linkin Park, Turnstile and Queens of the Stone Age.
For the finishing touches and mixing, he turned to producer Mike Crossey (The 1975, Twenty One Pilots, Arctic Monkeys, LANY), who also mentored Grandson throughout the process, helping him get the most out of rock music’s simple, organic, live-instrument approach. Crossey’s experience in taking bands to the next stage of their careers proved invaluable. In recent years, Grandson has also played to massive crowds, including at Linkin Park’s comeback show and as a headliner at the Left Field Tent of the Glastonbury Festival.
It’s a huge honour to step onto a stage that has welcomed activists, artists and poets alike. I’ll definitely be bringing out my angriest self!
– he said when announcing the concert.
While INERTIA is fuelled by this anger, its title comes from a more reflective place. The name grew out of a conversation Grandson had with his father, who remarked on how many people set off on a life path and then cling to it unconditionally:
They make life-defining decisions with huge consequences simply by blindly following the path they’re on, without even being aware of it. For me, writing this album - and leaning into this heavier sound - was a slow, inevitable departure from that path. There’s a sense of inevitability in all of this too: in systemic collapse, and in the unsustainability of the way we live.
INERTIA charts a different path: one that gets you moshing while simultaneously pushing you to dig deeper into its themes, with American politics serving as the backdrop that connects the record to a broader, progressive international audience.
So many people are fighting for so many different things. I truly believe that if we can find connection with one another - through music or in other ways - and collectively demand a brighter, better future, it can lead to a more holistic way of living, thinking and consuming. Everything starts with a cathartic release of energy. See you on the battlefield!
– Grandson invites everyone, and it’s well worth taking him up on it: see you at his show on 14 February at Barba Negra!
Tickets are available here.
(Cover photo: Barabás Levente / fractionsofmypov)
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