Grumpy
ARTIST BIO
Heaven, front person of Grumpy, keeps their friends close and their exes closer. The keyboardist and bassist are Heaven’s ex girlfriends, the drummer is their ex-husband (the guitar player and Heaven never dated but when they first moved to New York Heaven had a crush on Diego and there was one night when they thought they might kiss but they didn’t). Juicy, right? It sounds scandalous but really it paints a picture of the deep intimacy Heaven has with their collaborators. When Grumpy plays, the stories being told have a realism that can only be created when the songs are performed by the people they are about.
The new Wolfed EP sits in the Grumpy discography as their most confident and self-flourished work to date. Grumpy released their first record, Loser in 2020. is the origin story to the first of many “winners” coming for Grumpy. In the four years since the release of Loser, Heaven got divorced, moved to New York and was, for the first time, on their own. During this time Heaven transformed. They became brighter, happier, and much more confident. The same transformation is true for Grumpy’s new sound. With Wolfed, Grumpy makes a triumphant return with a body of work that takes bigger risks, laughs louder, and has more fun. In the lyrics you hear the self deprecating admissions of a person hilariously stumbling through love and life. But in the production, you get an impression of a cocky, jester type, unashamedly working for your attention. This dichotomy, somehow, leaves you charmed.
On stage, Heaven’s banter is a mix of high-confidence-rock-star and awkwardly honest dork. Looking at the full room of show-goers Heaven says into the mic, “well this is a perfect set up for me because I love attention.” There is an earnesty in the way Grumpy asks for your attention that makes you give it to them generously.
Heaven’s love isn’t reckless, it is playful and highly considered. Heaven may stumble and hit the wrong notes, say the wrong thing. But they do it for love. For Grumpy, those missteps are not preventable speed bumps in a relationship, but the Kintsugi cracks that make life worth singing about.. For in those painful moments of a relationship, we find Truth about ourselves. There is simple serenity found in realizing your imperfections the hard way. Grumpy exposes those missteps and invites you to laugh. By the end of “Wolfed” we leave the circus tent less afraid of ourselves.
