Speaking of Elliott Smith, it’s been a while since I checked in on his former tourmate Jason Lytle, whose band Grandaddy opened for and shared the stage with Smith over a decade ago. Having loved Lytle’s solo Travelodge performance and thoroughly enjoyed his band with Earlimart members, Admiral Riley, a new tune or two from the Modesto-raised singer-songwriter is always a treat. The recently filmed intimate performance for Anchortapes below brings just that: new songs “Matterhorn” and “Hang Town” sung sweetly with just an acoustic guitar accompaniment. What’s more, Lytle led Denton, Texas’ Midlake through a live set in their hometown this month of Grandaddy songs and an excellent cover of Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold,” in which Lytle’s similarly high-register voice proves he could go head to head with Thom Yorke in a Young covers competition anytime. You can check out that performance with the promising new solo material below:
“Heart of Gold” (Neil Young Cover)
“Hang Town” (New Song)
“Matterhorn” (New Song)