Album Review Let’s Eat Grandma - Two Ribbons

When Let’s Eat Grandma dropped the title track of this third record last year, it marked a decisive step away from the exhilarating electronic sounds cemented on 2018’s ‘I’m All Ears’. An eerie ballad accompanied by a suitably lo-fi music video, it hinted at a more explorative sound. In theme, it directly addressed shifts in the pair’s relationship, having been separated in both proximity and experience. It seemed ‘Two Ribbons’ was about to mark a shift in Let’s Eat Grandma’s trajectory. This shift arrives in songwriting. Bookended by the hopeful ‘Happy New Year’ and the somber title track, the album explores Rosa and Jenny’s individuality more than before. Although still sharing vocal duties, each track now has a distinct lead voice. This gives space for directness, delving into identity, sexuality and friendship. It also leads to a free-ranging sound, although always underpinned by the ethereal synths that place Let’s Eat Grandma somewhere between pop and unfiltered euphoria. It’s a space few have managed to occupy. Even with the rise of sad disco, ‘Two Ribbons’ transcends the scene thanks to Rosa and Jenny’s personalities shining through. ‘Hall Of Mirrors’ explores uncertain feelings, swirling downwards to spoken word-esque musings as real as the thoughts that inspired them. The borderless sound masks powerful pain. “Dunk my head in the bathtub and scream underwater,” they offer through a wave of distortion on ‘Insect Loop’, a song that showcases the emotional rise and fall Let’s Eat Grandma so brilliantly capture. It’s a sign of their growing exploration, even more direct, succinct and personal than their two prior releases. As the title track affirms the friendship’s resilience, it notes how they have been given the opportunity to explore themselves as individuals. “Like two ribbons, still woven although we are fraying,” they admit. By accepting this, Let’s Eat Grandma have found the sonic balance between friendship, unity, and individual identity.