Manchester based alt-indie-rock band, People Person dropped their self-expressive, experimental debut EP, Going Back With My Friends this Friday. Singer-songwriter and guitarist, Adam Grealish, and drummer, Nat Coop, were kind enough to chat with me about the making of the EP and its influences.
When asked for one lyric that sums up the EP, Nat and Adam both agreed on 'I don't care about any of the consequence', saying "we have been experimental with this in a way and I think we're just excited to have it. [...] We're just kind of looking at it and going, first EP, we've done our best, we've put our hard work into it and we're really happy with it".
For the band, this has been an affirming project to work on. Nat expressed how it has taken them from having "all these plans" to feeling like a "proper band". With many of the songs having been written for a while and recorded since November last year, this release feels like a long time coming. Of the songs themselves Adam said, "it took so much time to just kind of ground them and be like, this is how we want them to sound" but all that hard work has finally paid off.
"All of it, it all goes back to Wunderhorse" Adam states; as not only was it at one of their concerts where he and guitarist, Blake Grimshaw first properly met, but they also went onto be "a big influence on especially this EP. [...] We were obsessed, especially when we first started out". Other influences include Bruce Springsteen and King Krule, with moments on the EP emulating his jazz style chords and, as Adam calls it, "the shouty thing."
The EP opens cinematic and spacey with 'Venus'. Instantly immersing you into endless depths of emotion, with the mixing of heavy drums, intergalactic synth and vocals that bleed feeling. This song lets you know there is nothing shallow about this EP. Speaking on his, and producer, Filipe Chapman-Fromm's experience creating this song, Adam said, "we were just like, lets make it whacky and just do loads of like synth" and as you may know, we like whacky on this page.
'Your Eyes' immediately captured my interest upon first listen. Not only do I love its heady guitar and passionate sound, but there is something in the songs dramatic rise and fall that feels theatrical. Even the way certain lines are sung, to my ear at least, feels almost Rocky Horror-esque; to which, after confessing he used to do drama in high school, Adam told me "that's something I'll wear on my sleeve [...] I love that!"
'Fathers Day' starts like the static on an old TV, looking into the past and inwards on itself. This song splits the EP down the middle, taking an even rawer, more reflective approach to its songwriting, while never losing the bands signature alt-rock sound. It feels pensive, in the midst of emotion throughout as it contemplates, "I'm not even sure when I'll see you next" before fading back to static.
I find 'Everything I Do' to be the most experimental song on the EP. It pivots between an easier indie sound and bolder rock, whilst still maintaining cohesion. There is something so nostalgic about it, despite it being so innovative, balancing between comfort and creativity. For Adam, it is a song that sums up the ethos of the EP, "Everything I Do’ is a song about these guys" he says, gesturing to the band "at the end of the day they're always there to have your back no matter how far apart you go".
Possibly my favourite song, 'A New Life' closes the EP with confidence and power, leaving you buzzing in anticipation to hear what the band will come out with next. It overflows with grit and energy, and there is an early Nirvana-like quality to it. I was eager to discuss this with the band, to which Nat exclaimed, "there's two songs that inspired ‘A New Life’ for me [...] One of them is a song on InnerSpeaker by Tame Impala, and the other one is Endless, Nameless on Nevermind. So that's really funny that you picked up on that!"
As the name suggests, Going Back With My Friends is the product of looking back on the events of the past few years. Adam describes it as "a bit of a story, because it was written throughout college, so it's about kind of everyone I met in that time". It is an analysis of the adjustments and growing pains that those relationships have been through, from the perspective of a band with a lot of love for each other; as Nat proclaims, "I can’t see my life without any of them".
Going Back With My Friends is an electrifying debut EP, signaling towards an exciting and vibrant future for People Person, and I can't wait to hear more.
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