Today marks the official release date of Sydney party-started The Griswolds’ debut album Be Impressive out via Chugg Music/MGM.
It’s hard to believe that it was only two years ago when the guys burst on our radar winning a set at Parklife Festival thanks to Triple J Unearthed and their killer single ‘Mississippi’.
Now the four piece are working with music legends like producer Tony Hoffer (The Cooks, Beck, M83, Ladyhawke), Be Impressive channels ’80s nostalgia with a punk ethos. To celebrate the release of the LP, the band’s singer Christopher Whitehall has given us a track by track run down on the making of their killer debut.
16 Years
“This song is basically about the massive life changes we’ve been going through since we started playing music “16 years” ago. For me it’s about the transition into band life and the crazy shit that goes on when on the road. Its about never being comfortable in one place and sacrificing everything for the band. It’s missing our families and loved ones but pushing forward and hoping not to lose ourselves to harsh music industry.”
Right On Track
“This was a really fun collaboration between a lot of the band members coming up with ideas. I think lyrically this one for me is about the struggle our relationships go through because of our love for the band and our love for music.”
Beware The Dog
“This is the first song Dan (Duque-Perez, guitarist) and I ever wrote together. It’s about losing someone we were really close with to heavy drug use. ‘Beware the Dog’ is about that journey – the good and the bad times”
If You Wanna Stay
“This one is from the Cabin sessions. This song came about from a lot of perseverance, a little bit of luck and a dash of pressure. One of those songs that kind of writes itself.”
Down And Out
“This song was an experiment in try to take a traditional pop dance hook that you’ve heard a million times written in a lot of upbeat ways and to try and turn it into an anti pop indie banger. To try and take such a traditional synth line and turn it dark and put it in a context it’s never been heard in before.
This song took a long time to get right, because the lyrical direction we wanted to take it in was really heavy, so the music had to really do it’s best to compliment the lyrics without it turning into a heart aching ballad.”
Be Impressive
“This song is about a few things. Youth and the love of freedom that youth brings with it. The insecurities you feel growing up and the pressures of needing to be different and to stand out and hoping you’re impressive enough.”
Live This Nightmare
“Dan started this one when we we’re writing in Time Square NYC, I think he stayed up until really early one morning in the studio by himself. Dan showed us all this opening synth part and some ideas for a chorus and we were all sold. There was a certain darkness about the ideas Dan brought to us and I really wanted to capitalise on that.”
America
“We wrote this one a while ago simply because our set was too short and we needed more songs as we were playing more and more shows.We hated it for a really long time, and then all of a sudden it made a lot of sense. Now we love it.”
Thread The Needle
“The song is all about about nostalgia of the good times of being a young kid and about the things that were priorities then, smoking, hanging with your friends and how easy and breezy everything was. But how priorities and worries change as you get older. Am I going to be OK alone?”
Aurora Borealis
“This song is from the EP days, but it’s about a friend of ours who had a huge substance problem at the time that we wrote it but he was a bit of a Cpt Jack Sparrow. He was a pirate looking guy, who sounds like a pirate and acts a bit like a pirate but he is just loved by all, because he’s a legend at heart and has nothing but love for everyone around him.”
Not Ready Anymore
“This song is about our Journey as friends, as partners in music and about the good times and the bad and again like the running theme of the entire record, it’s about the pressure of writing an album with a short amount of time to do so. But mostly to me the songs music is about capturing a feeling and turning that into sound.”
Be Impressive it out today, you can pick up your copy via iTunes
