This time around, grandson wasn’t pulling any punches. He’d always been a fearless artist, one unafraid to take aim at authority, fight the power and let his listeners know exactly how he felt. But in recent times, the genre-mashing rock artist, who has long released soul-baring music, decided to reveal himself like never before. “My whole career and my whole relationship to songwriting has been driven by this real need to leave a mark and to feel understood,” says the
Canadian-American artist born Jordan Benjamin. “And yet I felt that I had been doing myself and my fans, who have now been on this journey with me for half a decade now, a disservice. I felt like we didn’t even have an honest conversation the whole time. I didn’t feel like I was bringing all of me to the table.

To that end, grandson wrote, recorded and released his most personal and vulnerable album to date. Where his past work tackled big-tent issues — often political and social in nature — I Love You, I’m Trying.