Just Like the Fambly Cat

Just Like the Fambly Cat
Studio album by Grandaddy
Released	May 9, 2006
Genre	Indie rock Space rock
Length	61:14
Label	V2
Producer	Jason Lytle, Trumfio
Grandaddy chronology
Excerpts from the Diary of Todd Zilla (2005) Just Like the Fambly Cat (2006)

Just Like the Fambly Cat is the fourth and final studio album by American indie rock group Grandaddy. It was released on 9 May 2006 in the US and 15 May 2006 in the UK.^[1]

"Shangri-La (Outro)" is a cover of, and samples from, Electric Light Orchestra's "Shangri-La", the closing track from their 1976 album, A New World Record.^[2]

The album's title is a reference to Lytle's desire to leave his home town of Modesto without any fuss, like the family cat, stating "They'll do that, almost out of respect and not wanting to put people out," "because when the family cat dies, he doesn't make a big deal about it...He just disappears".^[3][4]

The album reached number 171 on the Billboard 200 and number 10 on the Top Independent Albums chart.^[5] It reached number 50 on the UK Albums Chart.^[6]

Recording

Jason Lytle spent eighteen months recording the album at a studio in Modesto, California.^[7] The album didn't feature any of the other band members other than some drums by Aaron Burtch.^[8] Lytle chose to credit the album to the band, stating "It's much more natural to imagine a band rocking out together than it is to imagine one frustrated guy at 4:30am in his boxer shorts and messed up hair, slaving over the same keyboard part for four-and-a-half hours. I recorded and wrote all of the music and the parts (but) I didn't want to distract the listener from whatever they needed to think when they heard the music."^[8]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[9]
Blender	[10]
Entertainment Weekly	(A-)[10]
Filter	(92%)[10]
The Guardian	[11]
Pitchfork Media	(6.8/10)[12]
Robert Christgau	(A-)[13]
Stylus Magazine	(B)[14]
The Times	[15]
Uncut	(favorable)[10]

Critical reaction to the album was positive. Tim Sendra, writing for Allmusic, gave the album four stars, calling it "a fine epitaph".^[9] Mojo gave it three stars,^[16] as did SPIN's Keith Harris, who called it "equal parts bang and whimper".^[17] Bram Teitelman, reviewing the album for Billboard, commented on the albums "more personal" lyrics, and called the album "a worthy coda to a woefully under-appreciated band".^[18] Christopher Muther of The Boston Globe, described it as "a gorgeous album that should be admired much like a fleeting sunny afternoon or a sad foreign movie viewed without subtitles".^[19] The Stranger's John Vettese gave it a three star review, noting an "air of melancholic finality" and calling the songwriting "the best it's been since The Sophtware Slump".^[20] The Guardian's Dorian Lynskey gave it four stars out of five, calling it "a sad record...but an inspiring one too".^[11]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Jason Lytle. 

No.	Title	Length
1.	"What Happened..."	2:19
2.	"Jeez Louise"	3:41
3.	"Summer... It's Gone"	5:30
4.	"Oxygen/Aux Send"	1:08
5.	"Rear View Mirror"	6:08
6.	"The Animal World"	4:53
7.	"Skateboarding Saves Me Twice"	3:22
8.	"Where I'm Anymore"	6:07
9.	"50%"	1:02
10.	"Guide Down Denied"	6:32
11.	"Elevate Myself"	3:41
12.	"Campershell Dreams"	3:44
13.	"Disconnecty"	3:34
14.	"This Is How It Always Starts"	6:46
15.	"Shangri-La (Outro)" (hidden track)	2:16

References

1. ^ "'Just Like The Fambly Cat' out in May". NME. 2006-03-05. http://www.nme.com/news/grandaddy/22400. 
2. ^ Muther, Christopher (2006-05-12). "Grandaddy". Boston Globe. 
3. ^ Kaufman, Gil (2005) "Grandaddy Can't Wait To Leave Home — But They Have To Finish Telling It Off First", MTV, September 21, 2005, retrieved 2011-08-07
4. ^ Barton, Laura (2006) "'Stuff doesn't happen unless I'm alone'", The Guardian, May 19, 2006, retrieved 2011-08-07
5. ^ "Grandaddy: Billboard Albums", Allmusic, retrieved 2011-08-06
6. ^ "Grandaddy", Chart Stats, retrieved 2011-08-06
7. ^ "Grandaddy name new album". NME. 2005-09-20. http://www.nme.com/news/grandaddy/21037. 
8. ^ ^{a b} Diver, Mike (2006) "Grandaddy, from beyond the grave: Jason Lytle talks to DiS", Drowned in Sound, June 28, 2006, retrieved 2011-08-06
9. ^ ^{a b} Tim Sendra. "Just Like the Fambly Cat - Grandaddy". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r829871. 
10. ^ ^{a b c d} "Critic Reviews for Just Like The Fambly Cat at Metacritic". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/music/just-like-the-fambly-cat/critic-reviews. 
11. ^ ^{a b} Dorian Lynskey (5 May 2006). "CD: Grandaddy, Just Like the Fambly Cat". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2006/may/05/popandrock.shopping1. 
12. ^ Marc Hogan (9 May 2006). "Grandaddy: Just Like the Fambly Cat". Pitchfork Media. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/3550-just-like-the-fambly-cat/. 
13. ^ Robert Christgau. "Grandaddy". robertchristgau.com. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Grandaddy. 
14. ^ Justin Cober-Lake (11 May 2006). "Grandaddy - Just Like the Fambly Cat - Review". Stylus Magazine. http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/grandaddy/just-like-the-fambly-cat.htm. 
15. ^ Dan Cairns (14 May 2006). "Grandaddy - Just Like the Fambly Cat review". The Sunday Times. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/cd_reviews/article714959.ece. 
16. ^ "Grandaddy - Just Like the Fambly Cat", Mojo, 2006, EMAP
17. ^ Harris, Keith (2006) "Grandaddy - Just Like the Fambly Cat", SPIN, June 2006, p. 81, retrieved 2011-08-07
18. ^ Teitelman, Bram (2006) "Grandaddy - Just Like the Fambly Cat", Billboard, May 13, 2006, p. 49, retrieved 2011-08-07
19. ^ Muther, Christopher (2006) "Grandaddy Just Like the Fambly Cat", Boston Globe, May 12, 2006, p. D17, retrieved 2011-08-07
20. ^ Vettese, John (2006) "Grandaddy Just Like the Fambly Cat", The Stranger, May 2, 2006, retrieved 2011-08-07