East Anglian based grunge-pop riser Gabby Rivers shares the title track from her anticipated upcoming EP What is the problem?, due February 5.
Crunching, distorted bass, fuzzy guitar lines, and gritty production create a driving blend of garage-rock and grunge under Gabby’s catchy melodies and angsty, honest lyricism. Displaying the alt-rock meets indie-pop approach which stylises her upcoming 7-track EP, the new single builds tension through its verses before delivering an anthemic, earworm chorus. At the midpoint, an explosive breakdown gives way to a dense, swelling guitar section, culminating in a triumphant chant that closes the track with full-force energy.
Speaking about the single Gabby explains: “What is the problem?’ is about the emotional weight of being close to someone who always seems to have an issue with everything, and makes those issues everyone else’s responsibility. It’s about the frustration of constantly picking up the pieces they leave behind, feeling like you’re expected to fix things that were never yours to begin with, and realizing how impossible that can be.
“We wrote this track in the middle of the recording process for the EP, and it felt like the EP came together as a whole afterwards. It started out as a slow sad song on the acoustic guitar, but I told the band I wanted it to be angsty and angry. My guitarist came up with the lead part you hear in the middle, and we instantly connected with it. From there, the song took on a new life and I felt like our alternative rock sound really developed. We had so much fun in the recording process, lots of experimenting and recording so many group vocals.”
