First catching our ears last year with the track “Will He Ride (My Bike),” Grimson returns with further majestic captivation with the single “Household.” Lush chamber-pop and pulsing infectiousness contrast with enjoyably capricious qualities, driving to the lavish “do you know the feeling I’m describing?” sequence. The section emits a fun vibrancy amidst luxurious strings, driving to plucky string adornments with suave vocal affections, reminiscent of Andrew Bird. The “as of right now, I am stuck in the shackles,” progression touts a captivating sense of anxiety, driving thereafter to a chorus that soars with melodic grandiosity. Echoing some Harry Nilsson and Sgt. Pepper’s, “Household” is another winner from Grimson.
The Swedish/American artist elaborates further on the track, below:
“‘Household’ is an imagined desperate teenage domestic jailbreak.
The song was inspired by two of my close female friends who were heavily constrained and controlled by their domineering parents. The opening line “When I get out of this house, I will be my own,” refers to the captivity I witnessed. I try to give my friends a fighting chance in the final chorus of this imagined escape, singing “I can’t take my eyes off the horizon, ’cause I will be the first one off this island.” Sadly they don’t really succeed.
There is also something painfully personal about this track, so much so that when I first played this song in front of my family, my brother lashed out at him for insulting them personally.
I tried to take a page from Sergeant Pepper’s playbook, ‘Household’ morphs from section to section, sliding from hopeless ballad into a snake boots rock saunter, while attempting to retain sincerity, and what make my music my own. I borrowed far and wide for this, emulating George Martin’s string arrangements alongside a Dr. Dre-esque shuffle. The journey climaxes in a dramatic explosion akin to something off OK Computer, only to limp back to a Harry Nilsson croon at the very end.
While this track was originally arranged for my college psych-rock band, I reworked it in an attempt to deliver a clearer, more intimate view of Grimson’s personal and aesthetic direction. And I’m very proud of my string arrangement.”
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This track and others featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Best of March 2022’ Spotify playlist.
