Introducing Push Ups
Push Ups are a Brooklyn based band which I stumbled across recently - with only three singles under their belt and an EP due in the summer, they are sure to send ripples through the international alt-rock scene. If you're a lover of shoegazey instrumentals and melancholic lyrics, this is the band for you.
Vocalist Grey Li kindly took the time to answer some questions about their discography so far, his influences, and what is next for Push Ups.
Three singles are out currently, with the first one ‘Uniform’ being released in 2020, and the latter two released this year. Was that intentional or just how things happened?
'Uniform' was part of a nu-gaze project I had originally envisioned. I was writing a follow-up EP after that single came out back in 2020, but a lot of life stuff happened that I had to pay attention to. When I got back to a place where I was writing music again, I realised three years had passed. Sometimes that’s how it goes. Now I’m at a place where I’m writing a lot and it all feels super organic, so this year I’m gonna try to make up for lost time.
‘Twist’ is such an emotionally dense song both instrumentally and lyrically especially - “face down with my head in the grass, set the field on fire, breathe the ash for a while, as you watch me burn”. Followed that there’s the heavy ascending guitar riff, it goes hard. ‘Rosary’ comes across as more of a love song, what do these two songs mean to you?
'Rosary' isn’t really a love song to me; but I did write it as a love letter to my friends. All their struggles being young and navigating through life are valid, and I want them to hold onto hope. Its less about romantic love and more about the strength and depth of platonic love. 'Twist' is about being judged/perceived.
What's your songwriting process?
I’m an instrumentalist first, songwriter second. So the songs I write are always guided by what music I write. I try to write lyrics around the emotion of the music.
Who inspires you?
A lot of artists inspire me, but when I was writing this EP I was listening to Cap’n Jazz, The Get Up Kids, Elliott Smith, At the Drive-In, and The Beatles. Those 5 artists really helped me write this EP.
Your first EP is being released in the summer, so soon! Have you got any big plans?
Debut EP coming out in June! Got some shows booked in July. One in August - and then it's back to recording.
