“Broken Records” was a song that was almost thrown away.
Background
Stray Monroe is a San Diego outfit that came together in thanks to Blake Imperl and Colin Croft. The two were eventually joined by guitarist Adam Hakes, and began their initial work in January on an EP. As a newly formed group, they only just played their debut show back in May of this year.
Singles “Take It Fake It” and “Broken Records” are their latest releases, with a debut EP coming in January 2017, called The Stray Monroe Show. Some of the group’s influences include: The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, Oasis, Cage the Elephant, and Kings of Leon.
There is of course a deeper story to it, too, from songwriter Blake Imperl:
“”Broken Records” was actually a song I almost threw away. I had always been fascinated with the chord progression but didn’t know what to do with it. I just kept playing it and started to write proper lyrics.
The lyrics are about a rough break up I went through in Summer of 2015. Cliche, I know — another song about a break up. The line “I don’t know why I’m feeling alone but I kinda like it when your singing along” gets me every time. It puts me right back in that moment in time. I think writing that song really helped me to put the past behind me.”
Thoughts
“Broken Records” is charming, personal journey. Remaining cheery and soft throughout, it runs through its four minutes with a surprising amount of cohesion. The music video was directed by Timmy Ornelas, and is a rather clean, bring-a-smile-to-your-face production. As a pair, the song and the video feel at home with one another and stay admirably honest to themselves.
Support
Stray Monroe’s music can be streamed on their Spotify, and purchased on their iTunes. You can be sure to catch the team’s news on their January release by leaving them a like on Facebook.
