Let's Eat Grandma

Few band names in modern music carry as much wit as Let's Eat Grandma. Taken from a grammatical joke designed to highlight the life-or-death importance of comma placement, the name perfectly encapsulates the playful yet sharp intelligence that Rosa Walton and Jenny Hollingworth have brought to British experimental pop since forming the duo in 2013. Their story, however, begins long before that — in a reception classroom in Norwich, where two four-year-old girls met and forged a bond that would eventually reshape the edges of contemporary pop music.

Growing up together in Norwich, Norfolk, Walton and Hollingworth began making music at the age of 13, initially treating it as a joyful, imaginative pastime. Their earliest songs, including the charmingly titled The Angry Chicken and Get That Leg Off the Banister, hinted at the offbeat creative sensibility that would later define their sound. As they became embedded in the local Norwich music scene, their work caught the ear of musician Kiran Leonard, who passed their recordings on to what would become their management team — a pivotal moment that set the duo on a path toward a much wider audience.

Let's Eat Grandma describe their music as "experimental sludge pop", a label that hints at the dense, adventurous textures lurking beneath their melodic surfaces. Their debut studio album, I, Gemini, released through Transgressive Records on 17 June 2016, brought these textures to a broader audience for the first time. Drawing largely from songs written during their younger years, the album featured standout singles such as Deep Six Textbook, a meditation on playing truant, and Eat Shiitake Mushrooms, inspired by graffiti the pair stumbled upon during a walk through Norwich. Critics at NME, The Guardian, Pitchfork, and Q all responded warmly, recognising a genuinely original voice emerging from an unlikely corner of England.

If I, Gemini introduced the world to Let's Eat Grandma, then their second studio album, I'm All Ears, released on 29 June 2018, announced their arrival as a major force in British music. Preceded by a string of singles including Hot Pink, Falling Into Me, It's Not Just Me, and Ava, the album represented a bold sonic leap forward. It received widespread critical acclaim and earned the duo one of music's most coveted prizes, winning Album of the Year at the Q Awards — a remarkable achievement that cemented their reputation as fearless innovators willing to push pop music into thrilling, uncharted territory.

The duo's momentum continued into the new decade. In September 2021, Let's Eat Grandma unveiled Hall of Mirrors, a tantalising glimpse into a new creative chapter, before announcing their third studio album later that November. Two Ribbons, crafted in collaboration with producer David Wrench and released on 29 April 2022, was a deeply personal record that reached number 26 on the UK Albums Chart, their highest charting album to date. The title track and singles such as Happy New Year and Levitation showcased a maturing emotional depth without sacrificing the experimental edge that had always defined their work.

Beyond the duo's shared output, both members have pursued compelling solo endeavours that demonstrate the full breadth of their individual talents. Rosa Walton wrote I Really Want to Stay at Your House for the video game Cyberpunk 2077, a song that found an entirely new global audience when it featured prominently in the acclaimed 2022 anime series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. The exposure brought Walton's songwriting to millions of new listeners around the world, further expanding the cultural footprint of Let's Eat Grandma.

From their earliest playful experiments in a Norwich classroom to their status as one of Britain's most innovative and beloved musical acts, Let's Eat Grandma have built a body of work that is as emotionally resonant as it is sonically daring. Their journey is a testament to the enduring power of genuine creative friendship — and a reminder that the most exciting music often comes from the most unexpected places.