Surf rock trio The Grogans on the making of 10-track debut album Just What You Want
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Surf rock trio The Grogans on the making of 10-track debut album Just What You Want

Surf rock trio The Grogans are gearing up for the final show of their biggest national tour yet following the release of their debut album Just What You Want.

The Melbourne outfit comprising of Quin Grunden, Angus Vasic and Jordan Lewis laid the 10-track album down in just one week at Gruden’s Torquay coast house. They said their creative process was sporadic and spontaneous.

“We don’t usually designate a time to write but we did this time and came out with the album,” guitarist and vocalist Angus Vasic says. “We were there for a week and we got 10 songs out of it, we wrote most of them in that week apart from a couple of songs that we wrote elsewhere.”

Oozing vibes akin to Skeggs, Ocean Alley and The Dandy Warhols, the three best mates take inspiration from the likes of Hockey Dad, Tame Impala and Magic Bones. Their heavy, guitar-driven sound pays homage to the surf rock of the 1960s.

“It was pretty cool to set our minds on writing something, it didn’t work well some of the time – we’d play some music, have a beer and go for a skate or a surf, and then keep playing,” lead singer and guitarist Quin Grunden says with a laugh. “It was so much fun; you’d hardly call it work.”

The band released two EPs prior to their debut album, the second of which contains eight tracks. They formed as 17-year-old schoolmates. If you told them back then that they would go on to amass more than 50,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, play festival slots and tour the country as a band, chances are they wouldn’t have believed you.

“It was never meant to be a real thing, that’s why we’re called The Grogans – like what is that?” drummer Jordan Lewis says. “But hey, it’s happened and I’m happy about it.”

Vasic said engaging with their online audience was one of the best parts of the gig. “Spotify is so good, it’s such a large platform and you can see where people are listening which helps you plan your shows,” he said.

Just What You Want is their most fluid work yet, gliding between garage grunge, punk, blues, space and folk-rock.

“We like to jam a lot of bluesy stuff, some reggae, we’ve got a few different styles on this album,” Vasic says.

They will play their last show for year at Cherry Bar on December 21, and have no plans to slow down any time soon.

“We’ll just keep writing,” Lewis says. “We’re just doing it because we like playing, when we have songs we go into the studio and record and have fun doing it.”

When & Where: Cherry Bar, Melbourne – December 21. Tickets via Eventbrite.

Words and pictures by Kyra Gillespie