Written by Zach “Definitely Not a Music Major” Dalton
You might remember a few issues back, I wrote an album review on Joji’s “Nectar.” Well, I am back with another album I feel deserves the love. “Rest Without Regrets…” by Griffin Boucher is an alternative-pop album I can best describe as an experience. When he is not singing for his band, Orange Culture, Griffin Boucher is working on his own music. As of last week, he released his first solo album, “Rest Without Regrets…,” which he described as, “the emotions and thoughts of a teenager who’s turning into an adult.” This is evident in his lyrics, which flow with the thoughtfulness and profound feelings that are generally associated with poetry.
Boucher added, “As I graduated high school and started to see the world in a different way,” something you can hear in his lyrics, “I would pour those feelings into my music. That music all came together and became [the album].”
His lyrics can best be described as hauntingly beautiful, especially in his song “Always Blue,” where he uses his own vocals as a background sound paired with the instrumentals. Later in the song, he plays with the track itself as it plays out and slowly distorts and turns into a faint echo.
While the focus of his album is on his words and voice, which can compete against alternative industry giants, he also credited his friends for their help. “Charlie Lewis and Mark Raines (a.k.a. Marc Dragon) helped to really bring the songs to life,” Boucher commented.
His friends helped provide the instrumentals to help produce his album. “Rest Without Regrets…” has a very strong focus on piano or guitar. The lead instruments both pair well with the other tracks. “It’s nice to collaborate with other artists and I never learned guitar, so big shout-out to [Lewis and Raines],” Griffin added.
When asked about his favorite song Griffin admitted, “personally [it’s] ‘The Loop.’” He went on to explain, “I was watching Naruto in quarantine non-stop and the lyrics were inspired by some of the characters.” This song is probably the most experimental piece on his album. He and Charlie created a looping beat that plays under his lyrics with an occasional break for some quick piano trills. Griffin added, “Charlie and I happened to be messing around with a new song idea and I fell in love with the style of that song.” I think it is a safe bet to say songs similar to “The Loop” will be making a reappearance in his upcoming works.
“I’m already starting to write new material for the next album,” Griffin teased, “hopefully it won’t take too long to finish.”
At the end of the interview, Griffin recommended, “Go check out Marc Dragon on streaming platforms. Also, Orange Culture to hear Charlie, Reid, Landon and I tear it up!”
You can listen to “Rest Without Regrets…” and other works by Griffin Boucher on all streaming platforms.
