By Deaglan Howlett | Posted Friday, May 13, 2022
Grin & Bear has evolved quite a bit since their initial entrance to the scene with 2015’s Range Wars. Following their first release, the project has been spearheaded by singer and guitarist Brian Perrino. He has gone on to release two more records and a handful of singles and EPs under Grin & Bear, as well as appearing on other bands’ records. While lineups have changed, Brian being at the core has kept their self-reflective and self-love messages at the forefront. Their latest release, Naturally Goes, is no exception, and possibly the most heartfelt yet (in my opinion). I reached out to Brian to tell me a bit more about how this record came together and the smattering of talent (including himself) that played throughout the album. Thanks again, Brian!
Before the release of Naturally Goes this year you released the “Forgotten EP.” What did those songs mean to you when you wrote them compared to releasing them? Anything in particular drive you to release them this year?
The “Forgotten EP” consists of two songs that I wrote in/around 2015 and one song I wrote in 2017. The songs “Tree” and “Dead Deer” are very, very similar. Before I get into this: these are very dark and depressing songs from a very dark and depressed time. Although they were true and possibly still remain true, I no longer focus on them because spending too much time in that space can be unhelpful. At some point, it’s very important to look at the darkness and it can be beneficial, but I don’t want to live there or forget that this isn’t the whole story. That’s why we took so long to decide if and when we wanted to release these.
Their theme is: what is the point of destroying everything around me (the environment, crossing deer, marginalized groups of people, etc.) so that I can have a life I’m not even happy with? They were written specifically about me, but I think it’s very weird to realize how much harm a lot of us do just to prolong unfulfilled and depressed lives. This is a very dark way to start the interview haha so I apologize.
“Karate Kid” is a fun and funny song that I just wanted to throw in there to add some lightheartedness to the EP. We recorded it with Connor Hanson and I think it sounds super cool, and I’m glad we put it out. If you listen, just take it with a grain of salt haha.
How did the writing for your newest record differ from 2020's Be Gentle, if at all?
In a lot of ways it remained the same and in a lot of ways we experimented more on this one. If anything, this one was more collaborative. My friend Connor (Sentient Moss) and I booked an Airbnb at a lake and each had our own room to write demos in. In that lake house, I fleshed out and wrote a significant chunk of this album, which is something I’ve never done before. I wrote the basic demos as usual but gave a lot more creative freedom to my friends! On “Grip”, Faye Fadem (Trust Fund Ozu) took my original demo that had no electronics and completely added her own take. On “Make Everyone Feel Bad”, Stephen Kelly (ManDancing) and I wrote letters back and forth to help us figure out what we were trying to say and we even wrote the music together, which was difficult and scary and very fun. Another friend and collaborator Matt Baker took on a huge role on this album: he wrote and recorded a lot of the synths (“I Move Slowly” and “Porch”, to name two) and was there along the way for production help and general support, in addition to playing bass on several songs and playing the “coin flip” on the song “Naturally Goes.” This album wouldn’t be the same without him. The whole album is a giant collaboration and includes 4 different drummers, which we have never done before.
Brian Perrino. Photography by @littlegreen_pill.
I love that your last two records have been a collaborative effort in the studio. Who did you have play on this record, and how do you choose who plays what on your songs when recording?
Okay, I have
Chris Calabrese: drums
Matt Baker: synth/guitar/bass/backup vocals
Gavin Fischer: bass/backup vocals
Will Avon: bass/guitar
Connor McArthur (Sentient Moss): guitar/vocals
George Saives (Halogens): drums
Faye Fadem (Trust Fund Ozu): drums/synth/production/vocals
Kyle Donavan (Halogens): bass
Stephen Kelly (ManDancing): vocals
Nigel Whitley (Sentient Moss): bass
Nick Timoniere (Nameling): vocals
Alex Brumel: pedal steel
Christina (Orion Lake): vocals
Emily, Chris, Tsian, Janaki: voices on “I Can Handle Anything”
"Put Me in the Back of the Line" was the first single. What is special to you about this song?
This song is special because it outlines an extremely important breakthrough that I had a few years ago: seemingly contradictory things can BOTH be true.
It feels so good to be selfless AND sometimes it makes me resentful.
This is the one from the song but also:
I want to meditate and work on myself AND a lot of days I don’t want to do it.
I care about my health AND I enjoy doing things that are bad for my health.
The album cover rules. Who did the art?
Ahh thank you!
This one was by Courtney Burke and I love it so much! It was the original concept for Be Gentle, but with color. Be Gentle felt very two-dimensional to me (which is why it’s black and white): you are either being gentle, or failing (haha). Now I see it’s not that simple. There’s a lot more depth and color and growth and decay going on (that’s also why it’s so cool that it was burnt into part of a tree trunk). I hope that comes through on the album.
What is your favorite song on the album?
I think it’s the last song: “Thinkin of U”
You're hosting a release show for the record on June 4th at The Saint in Asbury Park. Can you tell us about the bands playing with you?
This show kind of fell into our lap. George Saives (Halogens) (basically our free manager) told us the show was booked and we could hop on and use it as our release show if we wanted. We are playing with our absolute best friends in Halogens, and hopefully some new friends in Carpool and Palamino! The show is 6/4 and I leave for a 4-month meditation retreat on 6/6, so it’s also kind of a great way to see a bunch of friends before I leave!
Brian Perrino