Grumpy’s avant-pop wonderland

The N.Y.C singer-songwriter behind the deliciously fried EP Piebald, out September 26, shares their favorite Hinder song, memories of iTunes, and how to act nonchalant at a Demi Lovato concert.

The Opener is The FADER’s short-form profile series of casual conversations with exciting new artists.

Grumpy’s music sounds tapped straight from an underground pop scene in your favorite fantasy franchise rather than our own terminally deficient IRL. Press play on their Piebald EP, out September 26 via Bayonet Recordings, and you can imagine yourself in a dragon’s den converted to a dive bar, surrounded by Carhartt-clad orcs nodding their heads serenely to Heaven Schmitt’s demented, hooky songs.

Grumpy’s debut album Loser came out in 2020, and served as an introduction to Schmitt’s vulnerable honesty wrapped up a bedroom slacker-rock sound. 2024’s Wolfed EP switched things up considerably — far more ambitious and less concerned with traditional notions of “indie music,” Wolfed saw Schmitt flex their songwriting prowess in many different forms: grunge-pop, pastoral folk, synthy sound art, and occasionally, a combination of some or all. Later that year, country music megastar Zach Bryan enlisted Grumpy to sing on two songs. For most other artists that link would feel like a curveball; in Grumpy’s absurd, anything goes world, it fits perfectly.

Since then, Schmitt has endured the end of a marriage, amicable divorce, and queer awakening — they’ve got a lot to talk about. On Piebald, the only thing weirder than modern life are the kinds of songs Grumpy wishes were on the radio. Schmitt’s penchant for painfully honest lyrics combines with their rapidly ascending songwriting confidence for some of their most endearing music yet.

Affection for turn-of-the-millenium mall pop produced by the Matrix is spread across the project — “Crush” is an especially effective vivisection of these tropes, its guitars glowing as Grumpy details a MSN Messenger-era romance complete with mall visits and screen name requests. This being a Grumpy project, things are never a straight line: the desolate folk ballad “Knot” documents interpersonal breakdown, its reverbed production making every shuffle sound like a storm.

Today, Grumpy’s dropping a music video for their new song “Bird Parts” featuring ex-Girlpool member Harmony. To tie in with its arrival, we sent Schmitt our questionnaire to get their answers on memes, bad advice, and tour life (speaking of, you can get tickets to their summer/fall dates here)

Describe the first show you ever went to.

I wore knee high socks, a tie and the deepest side part you’ve ever seen. I acted like I was way too cool to be at the Demi Lovato arena concert. Nobody understood me then, nobody understands me now.

What was the first CD/album/vinyl that you ever bought?

I really never bought CDs or full albums, even. When I first started selecting my own music consumption I had to be very choosy about which songs I would buy with my $15 iTunes giftcard. I bought a lot of terrible Top 40 singles, much to my Beck-Postal Service-Neil Young-loving father’s disappointment.

Despite hoarding and carefully selecting how to use my limited music money, I was constantly accidentally buying wrong and alternate versions of songs I wanted; like the Japanese version of “I Dont Like Your Girlfriend” by Avril Lavigne or the Hurricane Katrina version of “The Way I Live” by Baby Boy da Prince. Whoops. And I feel like this is so indicative of how my life is still; I figure out what I want but end up somewhere left of center then shrug it off and roll with it. I was always too frugal to buy the right versions in addition so to this day I can still sing Avril Lavigne in Japanese.

What’s the worst advice you’ve ever received?

The insistence that I was going to need to know cursive in my adult life.

What was the last movie you watched, and give a short review.

I can’t stop watching Jim and Andy, the movie about the making of the movie Man on The Moon which is a movie that I have never seen, where Jim Carrey plays Andy Kaufman. This movie rocks, it made me love Andy Kaufman. Andy Kaufman was a brilliant and antagonizing entertainer that many considered an “anti-comedian,” or so I’ve heard; I’ve never seen anything Andy Kaufman was in. I’ve seen Jim and Andy 9 times.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

“Happy wife, happy life.” I heart my girlfriend.

What’s the best thing you’ve bought yourself recently and why?

So many people, individually, dm’d me a link to these shoes, which I had actually ordered back in May before any of those DMs. They’re perfect shoes for me. I cannot believe my vibe is that palpable. I can’t believe they still haven’t come in the mail.

What do you wish you knew more about?

Gut health or what the dog is thinking or where is the thing I lost.

What’s your favorite song to play live right now and why?

“Lips of an Angel” by Hinder because it makes me cry.

Forward us the last meme that made you laugh.

This made me laugh so hard that I wrote these words into our song “Queens,” which is the most beautiful song I’ve ever written.

Name the last three songs you played/streamed.

My honest to god last three songs I saved were:
-“Banana Boat (Day-O)” by Harry Belafonte because I love, 50’s calypso, taking my girlfriend to
the beach and Beetleguese.
-“Big Rock Candy Mountain” because I have been diggin in my garden fer pertaters and because
I have Appalachian roots.
– “Gron’s Song” by Gron Jegglo – pshh you wouldn’t even get it.