For how talented and musically diverse the members of Gramma's Boyfriend are, they could easily take their sound in myriad directions. And, as anyone who has ever seen the band perform live can attest, they regularly do, bouncing seamlessly from bristling thrash numbers to carefree, keyboard-laden dance tracks to moodier, more soulful electronic experiments. Led by Haley Bonar and an all-star local band featuring her frequent collaborators Jeremy Ylvisaker (Alpha Consumer/Andrew Bird), Jacob Hanson (Halloween, Alaska), Luke Anderson (Rogue Valley), and Michael Lewis (Happy Apple, Andrew Bird, Bon Iver), the group has an unbridled, energetic sound that is bound by neither convention nor form. The group boldly take their songs down unexplored and often unrehearsed sonic avenues while letting their collective muses lead them where they may.

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Bonar, especially, seems to take a special pleasure in the untamed, inventive nature of the band, frequently letting loose with a primal wail that is a far cry from the serene, dulcet vocals featured in her solo work. There is also a drastic shift in lyrical content between Bonar's own stirring, intimate songs and the playful, mostly humorous focus on food and sugar crushes of Gramma's Boyfriend (as if the band name itself didn't already tip you off to the jocular nature of the group). But make no mistake, these imaginative sound experiments wouldn't work nearly as well in less capable hands, as all of these experienced musicians are skilled enough to adjust to one another's sudden shifts in tone and tempo, and proficient enough to be able to lead their distinctive sound to fresh, modern destinations while also echoing the influence of bygone eras.

As difficult as it is to determine which style the band will feature in their next song, it's tougher still to know what will become of them in the future. Bonar is taking a hiatus to have a baby, while the rest of the band has plenty of other projects to shift their attention to (Ylvisaker is featured twice in this year's Picked to Click poll, as guitarist in both Gramma's Boyfriend and the Cloak Ox). Whether or not Gramma's Boyfriend was just a short-lived diversion for these friends or something far more substantial is unknown. But even if the group does splinter into different directions in 2012, at least they were able to capture the adventurousness of their collaboration on their raucous debut, The Human Eye, leaving a feisty but fleeting sonic impression on the local music scene. [City Pages, October 2011]