Band Of The Week #119 - Glass Peaks
This week’s Band Of The Week is rising London trio Glass Peaks, who have just released their debut EP ‘It’s Raining On The Wrong Side of The Window’. This body of work for the band sees them blending an eclectic range of musical genres to make something unique of their own. Their post-grunge/new-wave sound puts them out their as one of the most creative bands on the London music scene at the moment, they took a moment to talk to us in more depth about the debut EP.
Your debut EP is out now, how does it feel?
Alf - It's a great feeling! We've put singles out there fairly consistently for the past few years, so it's nice to finally have a collection released in one go. I've been very excited about it and as corny as it sounds, I always dreamed about being in a band and releasing EP's / albums etc, so it feels pretty special.
Jake - it's a huge weight off our shoulders tbh. I get so frustrated sometimes putting singles out. To be completely honest I'm not a huge fan of these 'big banging singles'. My favourite songs to write and play are the ones that may not be a radio 1 indie banger. So it's lovely to be able to put a few songs out together that are all different.
It is called ‘It’s Raining On The Wrong Side of The Window’, is there any meaning behind it?
Alf - Well the title of the EP is also the title of the last track. It just felt like an appropriate name for this particular collection of songs - most of the subject matter is quite sombre, so we that title just felt like the most natural fit. We spent a while coming up with different ideas before releasing that it was staring us in the face the entire time.
Where was the EP recorded? Any behind the scenes stories from the record process?
Alf - It was recorded at Sound Escape studios in Bexleyheath. The studio is owned by our good friend and collaborator Erim. He's pretty much the 4th member of Glass Peaks. In terms of behind the scenes stories, there's not a great deal because we actually recorded this EP pretty quickly! But we always have a lot of fun in the studio. Because of our work schedules, we often record quite late at night; so I have some great memories of listening to half-mixed versions of tracks in the car on the way home; by the time I'd get back I'd have a list as long as my arm to send to the band and Erim with different ideas of where we could go with tracks etc... which is probably super annoying for him actually, but he's a diamond so it's okay.
Jake - That studio is like a second home to us now, Erim has all the time in the world for us and really allows me to get weird and creative which is great.
As a band, you were originally a heavily guitar focused band, but this EP sees a fresh new page for you, almost heading into the more electronic direction. What has caused that change?
Alf - I think we're still very much a guitar-focused band, It's always at the core of what we're doing. You're right in that there are a couple of tracks on this EP that take more of an electronic turn: São Paulo and London is Concrete. With both of those tracks, I'd written them with nothing but a laptop in my bedroom and we kind of just fell in love with the way they sounded without loads of guitars on the track, we thought we'd make use of the synths and electronic sounds we were playing with. I wouldn't say that those songs are anomalies, we're always trying to push the boundaries and work outside of our comfort zone, however, some of the newer stuff we're writing is a lot more guitar heavy. It all varies with each new song.
Jake - you'll never strip the guitar out of GP but I think adding more electronics was a natural progression for us. We all love the 80s and I think that's starting to creep into our sound more now.
Your latest single ‘London Is Concrete’ is a love letter to home, which for you is the city of London. Why do you love London? Where are your favorite places to go?
Alf - I've grown up and lived in South East London for my whole life. It's a special place for me, there's an energy here that is just different. It's a melting pot for culture and creativity. I've experienced so much change in my life, even in the area that I'm from, but it will always be home - nothing can change that. In terms of my favourite places to go? I love summer evenings at Franks rooftop in Peckham, a few jars in Forest Hill, breakfast in Brockley. I love the city, though, It's nice to get more central and spend time by the river or knock about in Borough Market etc.
Jake - I don't love London at all. It stinks and it's overcrowded. I've lived in and around London all my life and in a few months I'll actually be moving out of it. One thing I will miss is the people that make London, my friends. When I was younger I worked and spent all my spare time in the city but not anymore. I'm a fan of open spaces and green fields. There's no time or space to think in the city. My favourite spots though have to be Amersham Arms in New Cross, Brixton Academy will always be a special place and probably Greenwich Park. That's probably my favourite place in London, Greenwich Park.
The first single off this EP was a track named ‘Never Really Left’, which deals with the idea of toxicity within social media, can you explain that track a bit further for us?
Alf - Sure! Never Really Left is a song littered with sarcasm. It's almost a bit angsty just for the sake of being angsty in hindsight, but not entirely without valid reason! You know how you'll scroll through Instagram and someone has just been on a run? Or baked banana bread? Or donated to charity? Well the song is kind of about the feeling of being fed up with seeing all of that. I couldn't really give less of a fuck that you've done any of that; it's just another bandwagon that people are jumping on, you know? - the funny thing is, I do those things as well, I'm guilty of going for a run and posting a selfie like 'look at me, validate me, I'm amazing!' - It's just a commentary on that really...nobody really cares, but it's the nature of the world we now live in. Its funny.
The whole EP feels a little bit like a mini-concept album, what would you say are the key themes within the EP, and what do you hope your listeners take away from it?
Alf - Yeah we put a lot of thought and time into how we wanted the EP to flow, we did really treat it like an album in that sense. I'd say the key themes are grief, loss and everything in between (which was near to what we almost named the EP at Grant's suggestion!). I hope that listeners are able to relate to some of the funnier sarcastic sides of the EP. Songs like São Paulo are relatable for anyone who has ever been on a date that went badly, Never Really Left is literally about the fine art of scrolling through social media... there's more than just sombre tones to be found within this music, and I hope people see that as a band, we are multi-faceted and able to push the boundaries of what is possible within our music.
Jake - I hope they see that we're not a singles band. There's more to us. Listen to 3 or 4 songs in a row and you'll understand what we're about. I've always struggled with the concept of trying to show off everything we've got in one song.
The EP ends with the title track ‘It’s Raining On The Wrong Side of The Window’, which has a cinematic feel to it. If your music could go to any film, which one would it be and why?
Alf - Oh wow, this is definitely a question for Grant as he's really into cinema and film. I think if I could place our music in any film, it'd maybe be something like Blade Runner. I can imagine something like São Paulo in some kind of intense, futuristic environment.
Jake - Not a film but a TV series. We'd be a season of Black Mirror. Dark, doom and gloom but you can't help but love it and it always makes you laugh some how.
Do you have a favorite lyric from the EP? If so which one and why?
Alf - Maybe 'If you have to ask, you've gone running back to the wrong one' from the closing track. It's a metaphor for stalling grief of some kind, even though you know you have to accept it - I think there's just something so heartbreaking about it that speaks to quite a lot of people.
Now the EP is out there, what next for Glass Peaks? What are your plans for the next few months?
Alf - Well, we've all been in isolation with this crazy COVID-19 thing happening, but it's been quite productive we've all been writing and sending ideas back and forth, so once the lockdown is lifted, we'll back in the studio recording new material and looking at getting back out and playing live! We had a lot of live plans for the summer which will now be shifted to whenever we can make them work towards the end of the year - so watch this space!
Jake - Hopefully to get back out on the road end play some killer shows across the UK. I'd like to hit Manchester and Liverpool a lot more to be honest. I'd also like to spend a few weeks writing together and see what this virus has done to our brains.