What is the origin of this song?
The idea behind the song emerged sometime during an extended period of rain that we had earlier this year. Having been cooped up inside with little to do but think and write, we began to develop the lyrics together, messaging one another back and forth with new ideas.
How was the recording session?
Our recording sessions are always somewhat disjointed. We all live scattered along the coast, so it can be difficult for us to all get together at the one time and record a song. Thankfully, for this track we were all able in be the studio at the same time and so what you hear on the recording is mostly live with a few layers added on later.
What were the references, influences or musical inspiration?
I think we have an attitude towards our music similar to how artists like Blondie approached theirs. We’re influenced by and incorporate so many different styles and genres into our sound that it doesn’t always make total sense, but it sounds good and everyone’s having fun. As for Rainy Day Daydream, we can thank artists like Courtney Barnett and Angus and Julia Stone for some of the inspiration.
What did you most enjoyed of the writing, production and recording process?
At one of our first ever band rehearsals we sat down with the lyrics and a guitar line, and we pretty quickly built a fully formed song from that. The process felt so natural and satisfying. I think that was what we enjoyed the most.
What was the biggest obstacle and how was it overcome?
We all live so far apart from one another, so the creative process is often limited to sending voice memos and messaging lyric ideas to one another. Thankfully when we are able to meet up, we all work very well as a team and manage to be very effective with our limited time. I think we actually value our time together a lot more (and therefore get more done) because of our situation.
“We’re influenced by and incorporate so many different styles and genres into our sound that it doesn’t always make total sense, but it sounds good and everyone’s having fun.”
If you could have invited anyone else to collaborate, who would it have been and why?
Probably Courtney Barnett. We all love her and she’s definitely influenced how we approach storytelling in our own music. She has this candid, modest style that we really connect with. She’s the best.
What is the biggest challenge to present this song live and how has it been solved?
One of the best parts of the recording is the piano part that runs throughout, especially during the outro. Unfortunately, most live venues don’t provide a nice big grand piano, and we can’t exactly drag one along ourselves. We also recorded more instruments on the track than we can actually play live, so the live version is a more stripped-back, acoustic take on the song.
