girlpuppy discusses influences on debut LP 'When I'm Alone' ++ watch "Destroyer" video
girlpuppy, aka Atlanta-based singer-songwriter Becca Harvey, is releasing her debut album, When I’m Alone, on October 28 via Royal Mountain Records. It was produced with Henry Stoehr of Slow Pulp and Alex G guitarist Sam Acchione, and we have the premiere of the latest single, “Destroyer,” a spritely, tuneful indie rock track. Watch the accompanying video, which was shot at a rodeo, below.
We also asked Becca about the influences behind When I’m Alone, and she responded with a list that includes music, books, films, and more. Read it, and her commentary, below.
GIRLPUPPY’S WHEN I’M ALONE INFLUENCES
1. The Twilight Saga: New Moon
New Moon is one of my favorite movies ever made, and subconsciously so much of my album relates to it. I wrote this album in a time of my life that I was calling my “Bella era”, because in this movie she struggles with the fear of being alone. The soundtrack of this movie also influenced the album heavily. I discovered Radiohead, Bon Iver, and Grizzly Bear because of this movie, and I think you can definitely hear these influences when you listen to the album. Even the coloring scheme of the movie influenced the album art, I just really love the muted colors like brown, black, and green because they remind me of fall which is when I usually feel the loneliest.
2. Daisy Jones and The Six
I wrote the song “Destroyer” in Philadelphia after reading the novel Daisy Jones and The Six. There’s one part of the book where the character Billy Dunne considers kissing a woman outside of his marriage. He acknowledges that if he decided to make that one small decision it would ruin everything else about his life. I consider this kind of thing “The Destroyer,” the one thing you do that could ruin everything else. It’s a song about me also having that opportunity, but deciding against it , just as Billy Dunne does in the book. I read this book while I was supporting The Districts on tour, and it stuck with me for a long time.
3. My Best Friends
My best friends Emma, Billy, and my brother, Ben had a huge impact on some of the songs on this album. They were 3 of the people that really saved me out of feeling completely alone. Emma has a whole song dedicated to her on the album, “Denver” is about Ben leaving our hometown and moving to Denver, and “I Want To Be There” was written after Billy moved out of the house we were living in and moved to New York.
4. Movies and Actors
After finishing the album and listening back to it I realized that there were so many unintentional movie and actor references. I think this is because at the time I was writing the album I was watching so many movies and consuming so much media that I ended up accidentally writing about it! I end up staying in bed and watching tv/movies almost every time I’m alone, so it makes sense why I tied it into the album.
5. Grizzly Bear
⁃ Grizzly Bear has been one of my favorite bands since I was 10. I’ve wanted to make music that huge and cinematic and beautiful ever since then. Their songs take up most of the inspiration playlist for the album, specifically the song “On a Neck, On a Spit”. I have still never heard a song that has moved me in the same way as this one, every time I hear it’s like I’m listening to it again for the first time. This influenced a lot of the big outros/instrumental breaks on the album. It also influenced the amount of mandolin used in the album.
GIRLPUPPY – WHEN I’M ALONE TRACKLIST
1. Final Girl
2. Wish
3. Teenage Dream
4. Swallow
5. Somewhere
6. I Want To Be There
7. Denver
8. Revenant
9. Emma Marie
10. Destroyer
11. When I’m Alone
12. Permanent State
