Modesto, Calif., rockers Grandaddy plan a May 16 release for their second album, The Sophtware Slump. The LP continues the experimentation with country-rock that earned critical praise for their 1997 debut, Under the Western Freeway. Songs range from the low-key electric ballad "Hewlett's Daughter" to the surreal, uptempo pop of "Broken Household Appliance National Forest." The lyrics combine sad poetic observations with an offbeat sense of humor, telling stories of aliens, dial-up satellite spy-systems and other oddities. Other tracks include "He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot"; "Jed the Humanoid"; "The Crystal Lake"; "Chartsengrafs"; "Underneath the Weeping Willow"; "Jed's Other Poem (Beautiful Ground)"; "E. Knievel Interlude"; "Miner at the Dial-a-View"; and "So You'll Aim Toward the Sky."