“I hope I’m not a hopeless romantic”, sings Grant Perez within the opening line of his debut album. In fact, the Sydney-based Filipino songwriter higher referred to as Grentperez is precisely that – specialising in succinct, lovesick pop songs delivered with carefree hooks and winking self-awareness.
Fortunately, Perez approaches infatuation and devotion from sufficient totally different angles and sonic refreshes to maintain us engaged all through. Following the large success of 2021 single ‘Cherry Wine’, which achieved gold gross sales in America and Australia on the energy of amorous lyrics and breezy bossa nova, Perez stretches out in delicate and savvy methods on his debut – all whereas refining the sunshine contact of his immaculate voice.
After the chirpy beat and unexpectedly noisy guitar within the opening of ‘Good to Meet You’, he jumps proper into the wobbly ballad ‘Woman on the Station’. Its light layer of strings full the sensation of a love story unfolding in opposition to a Hollywood soundstage. ‘Falling for a Buddy’ revisits the bossa nova tone of ‘Cherry Wine’, however sneaks in significantly darker lyrics about how he’d moderately die than see his crush maintain another person’s hand.
Conjuring scenes of romantic pining is nothing new, however Perez provides enjoyable musical and lyrical particulars to his various views. In a collaboration with Amsterdam artist Benny Sings, ‘Fuzzy Feeling’ flexes affable vocal harmonies and a hook that might have been an advert jingle for a low-sugar gentle drink. In the meantime, ‘12065’ (the zipcode for Clifton Park, New York) is a relatable portrait of a long-distance relationship: “How does it really feel on their own with that gap in your mattress / Making shapes together with your physique within the area that I left?”
In a 2022 interview, Perez advised NME he’d wish to discover distinct genres within the method of artists like Toro y Moi. The album’s standout single ‘2DK’ makes good on that promise: it’s homespun hip-hop that performs like De La Soul meets Beck, capturing the giddy rush of an evening spent partying (“Name a cab for me/Take a dab for me”), a primary hook-up, and the requisite debriefing with a pal. In the meantime, ‘Film Scene’ and the Ruel duet ‘Dandelion’ lean extra into confiding R&B.
It’s straightforward to think about Perez doing a whole report in that vein, or within the Michael Bublé-esque crooning of nearer ‘Yours to Maintain’. At 23, he nonetheless has loads of time to really feel out his choices when it comes to sound and magnificence. However for now, ‘Backflips at a Restaurant’ delivers on the promise of his early success and invitations us deeper into what feels like his non-public world.
Particulars
- Launch date: March 28
- Report label: Quick Pals/AWAL
