Grentperez ‘When We Were Younger’ Review

By Charlotte Stone

grentperez delivers relaxed, easy-to-digest nostalgia with his latest album, ‘When We Were Younger’. The Sydney-born pop artist’s previous EPs and singles are the perfect blend between easy listening and pop, and his latest release is no exception. 

grentperez first found his audience on Youtube, publishing his first video at just 12 years old, his channel gradually generating over 100 million views and 600k subscribers! His content included a nice mixture of guitar covers and original songs, all of which hold up today and are worth checking out! Now at 21, his original music is both captivating and down-to-earth, with his indie roots clear in his breezy, chill guitar and bedroom pop style (and even his mini music videos are just as charming!). 

‘When We Were Younger’ was designed to beat a writer’s block of sorts, and it looks like it’s done its job, with a creative array of laidback sounds. From the opening track, which is notably and jarringly Western compared to the songs to follow, it becomes clear that ‘When We Were Younger’ was born from a number of creative influences. 

The album is bouncy and spry, its sound lifted right out of a charming 90s romcom. It has the vibes of laying on the beach, being serenaded by a guitar and reminiscing on what once was – and what was, at least for grentperez, is past friendships, relationships and childhood. grentperez boasts that his music has something for everybody, though the descriptor that seems to resonate most strongly throughout every single track on the album is “upbeat and rock-ish about friendship” (F word magazine). At times it can even be hard to tell them apart thanks to this cohesive thematic glue holding them tight together; every song on this seven-song collection comes circling inevitably back to the same thing: memories and nostalgia.

Perhaps the most mournful and yearning track of this album’s lineup is ‘Us Without Me’, its soulful strings communicating  relationship woes that many will connect with; even in the bittersweet ‘Stuck on You’, grentperez seems to relish in feelings of missing what’s been left behind in relationships after moving on from them. After a little bit, this sentiment of mourning can feel a little bit repetitive; “I miss what used to be, but I’m glad it happened.” Thankfully, not every song has sad lyrics that not even a cheery, underlying beat can offset. 

‘When We Were Younger’ looks back on childhood antics with a certain fondness – and the charming, relaxed ‘When The Day Is Done’ is perhaps one of the most uplifting tracks here, looking fondly towards the future rather than the past; “I know that you got me, no matter wherever I go, so when the day is done, I’m coming to you.”

Sweet sentiments are definitely present amongst grentperez’s nostalgia, and it’s clear that his vision for this project centres on memory. Despite his relaxed sound, he isn’t afraid to shy away from the sour parts of this reflection, but intersperses a healthy amount of  cheerful head-bops amongst them too. 

While only in his early twenties, grentperez has released a self-assured, comfortable and easily digestible album, proving that this young Aussie artist is certainly one to watch.