Singer Brooks Nielsen and music director/guitarist Matt Taylor met in high school in the beach town of Dana Point, California, bonding over surfing, skating, and partying. When offered the chance to perform at a house party, the duo quickly wrote their first six songs in a single day, leading to the first incarnation of the band that would eventually become The Growlers.
After releasing a handful of self-recorded cassettes and CDs, The Growlers issued their first studio album, Are You in or Out? in 2009 on Everloving Records. Aquarium Drunkard described it as “consistent in sound and tone that is as enjoyable straight through or on shuffle… Taken as a whole, the record is a beautiful mix of late 60’s freak-out, folk calmness and surf rock.” Their second album, Hot Tropics, was released in 2010, also on Everloving Records. The band's third album, Hung at Heart, the first to feature Anthony Braun Perry on bass and Jason Kaiser on percussion, was released in 2013. The band originally worked with Dan Auerbach to record the album, but the finished version never saw official release. Instead the band recorded a new version of the album in Costa Mesa, CA with Mike McHugh at his Distillery Recording Studio, to get a more lo-fi sound.
Chinese Fountain, their new "more grown up, well polished" album was released September 23, 2014. This album was produced by JP Plunier at Seahorse Studios in Los Angeles, CA. While touring the album, the band expanded their live band with percussionist Nick Murray.
The band's fifth studio album, City Club was released by Cult Records on September 30, 2016, while they embarked on a supporting tour in the same month. It was the first Growlers album to be credited solely to Brooks Nielsen and Matt Taylor, as opposed to the whole band. Nielsen and Taylor wrote and recorded demos for the album over a span of 2 to 3 months with the help of Kyle Mullarky at his studio in Topanga Canyon, CA. It was preceded by the title track as a single produced by Julian Casablancas, who also owns the label. Neither drummer Scott Montoya nor bass player Anthony Perry feature on the album. On September 25, the band confirmed Montoya's departure from the band and stated that Perry was set to return in the near future. The band toured for this album with Brad Bowers on bass, Adam Wolcott Smith on keyboard, and Richard Gowen on drums. Whether their membership in the band is permanent is currently unclear.
The band released Casual Acquaintances on July 27, 2018, a collection of demos and unused material from the City Club sessions.
Allegations of misconduct
In July 2020, allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced against the band, along with other artists associated with Burger Records and the Southern California surf and garage rock music scene. Arrow De Wilde, the lead singer of the L.A. rock band Starcrawler, shared a personal encounter on her Instagram. In her post, Arrow claims she was assaulted by a male stripper hired by The Growlers while they were on tour together in Australia. In a statement issued via Instagram on July 31, 2020, Growlers singer Brooks Nielsen took "full responsibility and accountability for the behavior of all Growlers' band members, past and present," and announced that Matt Taylor would temporarily leave the band. Additionally, former Growlers touring keyboardist Adam Wolcott Smith admitted to an incident of abuse on his Instagram, while on tour with his band Zen Mother.
Night Ride
The Growlers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Could've held out, but your clock was ticking
No easing in, straightened out lines
Alone with your thoughts
'Cause your friends are still in
Night clubs and back rooms
Baggies in the bathrooms
Nothing's changed but you
Saying nothing's missing
Thoughts are drifting away from you
Morning sun fills the void
Now you see there never was a point
Over and over and over again
'Till you can no longer pretend you are sane
Try but you couldn't get any more sure
And the ending still will never change
Tomorrow night'll go on without you
Go on without you there
Tomorrow night'll go on without you
'Till dawn and no one will care
You can't know, it's a move in the dark
Hesitation leaves you hung on the lip
Unclench your teeth
Peel off the smile
See no one there, and you release your grip
Night clubs and back rooms
Baggies in the bathrooms
Nothing's changed but you
Saying nothing's missing
Thoughts are drifting away from you
Led the beast to the cliff
One more step and a long way down
The morning sun fills the void
Now you see there never was a point
Over and over and over again
'Till you can no longer pretend you are sane
Try but you couldn't get any more sure
And the ending still will never change
The Growlers’ song “Night Ride” depicts the feeling of being alone in a crowded social scene. The opening lines express the desire for more time, indicating an uncomfortable reality the singer is experiencing. The pressure of fitting in or having a desire to be accepted by others has caused them to abandon their own mind, embodying the feeling of being “alone with your thoughts, 'cause your friends are still in."
The lyrics go on to describe the various activities of a night out, such as nightclubs, back rooms, and drug usage, as if they are all standard, half-hearted attempts to escape the reality that no one is truly connected. The line “nothing’s changed but you” reveals that, despite the efforts to find meaning, one is still searching for something. The repetition of the phrase “Over and over and over again” further emphasizes this sense of repetition and futility.
As the song progresses, the singer faces their true feelings and the reality of their situation- that their time spent trying to fit in was all for nothing. The line “The morning sun fills the void / Now you see there never was a point” expresses the realization that they’d been trying to fill a void all along, however, their efforts were fruitless.
Overall, the song captures the discomfort and disillusionment one can often feel while navigating social situations and searching for oneself.
Line by Line Meaning
Too soon, wanted more time
Things ended too quickly, and you wish you had more time.
Could've held out, but your clock was ticking
You could have prolonged the situation, but time was running out.
No easing in, straightened out lines
There was no gradual transition into the situation; everything was very clear and defined.
Alone with your thoughts
You are left with your own reflections and musings.
'Cause your friends are still in
Your friends are still involved in the situation, but you are left out.
Night clubs and back rooms
You may find yourself in places like night clubs and back rooms.
Baggies in the bathrooms
People may be using drugs in the bathrooms.
Nothing's changed but you
The situation remains the same, but your outlook on it has changed.
Saying nothing's missing
You are trying to convince yourself that everything is okay and that nothing is missing.
Thoughts are drifting away from you
Your thoughts are getting away from you, and you feel like you're losing control.
Morning sun fills the void
The emptiness or void you were feeling has been filled by the morning sun.
Now you see there never was a point
You realize that there was never a reason for the situation to occur in the first place.
Over and over and over again
You keep repeating the same mistake or cycle multiple times.
'Till you can no longer pretend you are sane
You keep going until you can no longer ignore your own madness or irrationality.
Try but you couldn't get any more sure
You tried your best, but you just couldn't be certain.
And the ending still will never change
No matter what you do or how you try to approach it, the outcome will remain the same.
Tomorrow night'll go on without you
The next night will happen, whether or not you are there to experience it.
Go on without you there
People will continue to do things and have fun without you.
'Till dawn and no one will care
The night will last until dawn, and no one will be bothered by your absence.
You can't know, it's a move in the dark
You can't really understand or comprehend what's happening. It's all just a shot in the dark.
Hesitation leaves you hung on the lip
Your indecisiveness has left you on the verge, unable to move forward or backward.
Unclench your teeth
Relax and let go of your tension.
Peel off the smile
Stop pretending and being fake.
See no one there, and you release your grip
When you realize no one is watching, you let go and move on.
Led the beast to the cliff
You led yourself, or someone else, to the edge or brink of a dangerous situation.
One more step and a long way down
With one more move, the entire situation will collapse or get much worse.
Over and over and over again
You've repeated the same pattern multiple times already.
'Till you can no longer pretend you are sane
Until you finally lose touch with reality and can't keep up the facade anymore.
Try but you couldn't get any more sure
No matter how many times you try, you just can't seem to be more certain.
And the ending still will never change
Despite your efforts, the situation will always come to a predictable or inevitable conclusion.
Contributed by Amelia I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.