REVIEW // Rob Grant “Lost at Sea”
On June 9th, Rob Grant released his debut album, Lost at Sea. You may be asking yourself, who is Rob Grant? He has had no formal musical training, and yet his songs are supported by the sweeping swells of strings from the Budapest Art Orchestra and the signature stylings of Jack Antonoff. The 69-year-old pianist has previously held many positions, but his most important role has been as the proud father of Elizabeth “Lizzy” Grant; AKA Lana Del Ray; larger than life persona and all American pop princess with a vast, cult-like following.
The black and white album cover features Grant on a boat, wispy white hair and Hawaiian shirt blowing in the wind, swarmed by seagulls, with arms outstretched in a not-so-subtle nod to the cover for Norman Fucking Rockwell.
In an age of calling out nepo babies, this father’s connection to his famous daughter is impossible to hide, and Rob Grant isn’t trying to. He’s taking it in stride, proudly proclaiming that he loves being called a “nepo daddy.” He’s even gone as far as purchasing the web domain nepodaddy.com where you can purchase merch for his new album including a “nepo daddy” crop top.
It’s no surprise that the most popular songs from the album, “Lost at Sea” and “Hollywood Bowl,” feature Lana’s signature dreamy, meloncholic vocals. They’re also the only songs with lyrical accompaniment. My favorite line is from “Hollywood Bowl.” Lana sings, “I know I’m not Joni Mitchell/But I’ve got a dad who plays like Billy Joel.”
But this piano man isn’t playing yacht or dad rock, and Lost at Sea isn’t really rocking the boat. It’s just smooth sailing through quaint, simple songs. It’s background music, but it’s a nice background; with lilting notes the constant lapping of little waves onshore. Some songs are lighter and higher, like the first track “Moon Rise Over The Ocean”. Others, like “Deep Ocean Swells'' and "The Mermaids Lullaby” are deeper to invoke the feeling of being underwater. Some notes in “Deep Ocean Swells” mimic sonar. “The Mermaids Lullaby” is the most experimental of the bunch. It’s spare and builds slowly. The tracks trickle and flow into each other like water; the shift is never too distinctive.
It’s a good studying soundtrack, if you enjoy contemporary instrumental music. It’s definitely not profound enough to get so much praise that it overshadows Lana, but it’s not bad enough to become the internet's punching bag.
Words: Celia Shanley
