The Griswolds

As far as debut album mantras go, “Be Impressive” is a fantastically simple statement of intent.

For Sydney party-starters The Griswolds it proved the driving ideal that would shake off the daiquiri-flavoured tropical tones of their Heart of a Lion EP and unite the four-piece’s more refined musical goals.

It’s a long way from the Sydney houseparty where Christopher Whitehall (vocals/guitar) challenged “sometime drinking buddy” Daniel Duque-Perez (guitar/synth), to write a riff on the spot. “That was how the band started,” laughs Dan. “Chris thought that riff was really fun and interesting, and it turned into our first single, ’Mississippi.’ The two of us realized that perhaps we could do something really cool, that the way we wrote songs together was something neither of us wanted to waste.”

"Mississippi" and second single "Heart of a Lion" from their debut EP launched the band to a worldwide audience and having finally settled on a name (thanks to a passing comment about National Lampoon’s Family Vacation), the band were suddenly playing shows with San Cisco, Last Dinosaurs and touring Australia to ever-increasing crowds.

After forays to the UK and US, the band — Chris, Dan, bassist Tim John and drummer Lachlan West — were itching to record their debut album, signing with American super-indie Wind-Up Records.