About the Music

Written over the summer of 2020, Painting the Bathroom Green showcases my experience of trying to find connection in isolation, turn boredom into peace, and manifest comfort amidst fear. Lyrically, I relentlessly search for reasons to be grateful despite feeling stuck in a brain - and in a world - that feels broken. I beg for attention, wonder if it's safe to treasure a newfound friendship, and paint a bathroom green. Musically, the songs range from gentle and dreamy ("Stay Inside My Dreams," "Duck Encounter") to upbeat and angsty ("Crave," "Envy the Trees").

I view this album of an exploration of the way my struggle with mental health has fueled my art. If I was a little happier and a little healthier, would my art be better? Or would it be worse? Would it even exist at all? My art, the person I am, the world we live in - is it all indebted to blue?

As much as I want to use my life to spread positivity, the negative feelings are often the ones I feel the need to express. And as much as I don't want to romanticize the struggle or paint mental illness as a creative superpower, I do think talking or singing about it can be cathartic for both myself and those who listen.

In this album, I continue to make lemonade out of lemons, but I also try my hand at some other drinks. I look outward, instead of just inward. I sing about demons, and fear, and overthinking, and loneliness. I also sing about a spelling bee, a peach tree, tattoos, cold weather, and a kid making art with sidewalk chalk. It’s anything and everything, pieces of me and pieces of the world I witness, all wrapped up in 26 alphabetized tracks.

Purple Door explores various aspects of my teenage years — stress, fatigue, my cellphone, coming out as bisexual, and struggling to make friends, to name a few. Lyrically, it’s filled with themes of anxiety, identity, and uncertainty. Musically, it’s influenced by the worlds of indie, folk, rock, broadway, and pop. Compared to my first album, Purple Door is just as much of a learning process, but it brings in more sounds and collaborators.

"The thrill of creativity is apparent here, and this music sounds very innovative. However, there is also a very familiar element to it, bringing such a relatable listening experience to the table. The set-list is long enough for the record to be extremely diverse, making for a really amazing flow of music" -thebandcampdiaries

Play is comprised of previous work I had shared on YouTube throughout middle and high school. It includes a semi-frightening tune about self-destruction and self-construction, an exploration of agnosticism on guitar, a joyful nod to childhood, an experimental a cappella defense of sensitivity, and thirteen other diverse tracks.

In addition to being a nod to “More Like Children,” part of the reason I called this album "Play" was because these songs were my first playground as an artist. I was just messing around, exercising my songwriting muscles, figuring out how to put all the pieces together, and growing in the process.