Great grandpa

In spring 2021, Great Grandpa faced an uncertain future. After beginning work on a follow-up to Four of Arrows (2019), life pulled each member in different directions: Al Menne moved to LA and released a solo album, Dylan Hanwright became a producer, Cam LaFlam opened a bookstore, and Pat and Carrie Goodwin moved to Denmark and had a baby. But in 2023, drawn back by years of shared history and friendship, they reunited and restarted the album with fresh perspective. The result is Patience, Moonbeam—a vivid, emotionally rich portrait of lifelong collaborators growing together.

The album title, taken from a family joke, reflects both the band's close-knit dynamic and the slow, open-ended creative process that shaped the record. Unlike Four of Arrows, which was made under time pressure with an outside producer, Patience, Moonbeam evolved through years of demoing, with Dylan handling production and mixing. “There’s a lot of texture to be found when something has been worked and reworked,” says Al.

The result is their most ambitious, confident work to date. All of Great Grandpa’s signature elements are intact—Pat’s inventive song structures, Al’s stirring vocals—but with expanded voices and a collaborative ethos. Everyone contributed; the band's “open door” approach fostered creative freedom over ego, producing a cohesive record despite its many perspectives.

Pat cites Abbey Road as a model—distinct voices unified into something magical. The album glides through emotional extremes: the explosive “Doom,” the glitchy softness of “Kiss the Dice,” and “Never Rest,” which grew from a lullaby into a meditation on new parenthood. “Ephemera” channels Portishead as it reflects on life’s fleetingness.

At its heart is “Kid,” the only song saved from earlier sessions. Pat and Carrie wrote it after losing a pregnancy, channeling grief into hope: “All good things in time define their meaning.” Meanwhile, levity shines in “Ladybug” and “Junior,” which revel in quirky imagery and country-tinged storytelling.

Ultimately, Patience, Moonbeam is about recommitment—to creativity, to chosen family. On “Task,” they sing, “You had changed / But the heart of you was still the same,” ending in a chanted affirmation of reunion. “We’re like individual swinging pendulums,” says Dylan. “But when we come into sync, it’s beautiful.” Like a Newton’s cradle, the band has found new harmony—and it was worth the wait.