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.
Problems III
The Growlers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When we've come this far
Remember when we met
At the old Prospector
Blindfolded acid trips
Your tiny fingertips
Piano songs off time
Problems come in threes
Then we beat them down
Its nothing when compared
To the hangovers, we've shared
But rents on time
We've got cigs and cheap red wine
Come on and share my table
And pour your heart into mine
Time can be so blunt 'til its no fun
But all in all, time's treated us fine
Time can be so blunt 'til its no fun
But all in all, time's treated us fine
It ain't no use to act
Like we're mom and dad
We've done enough of that
Impressions, good and bad
Flattering copycats
Caught digging through our trash
Licking our rusty cans
Life in the frying pan
Problems come in threes
Then we beat them down
Its nothing when compared
To the hangovers, we've shared
But rents on time
We've got cigs and cheap red wine
Come on and share my table
And pour your heart into mine
Time can be so blunt 'til its no fun
But all in all, time's treated us fine
Time can be so blunt 'til its no fun
But all in all, time's treated us fine
Lucid trips in joy ride ships
We watched the neon lights
A lovers ride to thaw out frigid times
Lucid trips in joy ride ships
We watched the neon lights
A lovers ride to thaw out frigid times
The opening lyrics of The Growlers' song Problems III urge a lover not to give up when they've come so far together. The couple is reminded of their meeting ("Remember when we met at the old Prospector?") and the eccentricities of their early relationship ("Blindfolded acid trips, your tiny fingertips, piano songs off time, wood teeth stained from the wine"). The couple has been through some tough times, but they have always beaten their problems together ("problems come in threes, then we beat them down. It's nothing when compared to the hangovers we've shared").
Line by Line Meaning
Babe don't give up yet
Don't lose hope in us yet
When we've come this far
We've made it this far in our relationship
Remember when we met
Recall the time when we first met
At the old Prospector
At the location where we met each other
Blindfolded acid trips
Trips on drugs while blindfolded
Your tiny fingertips
Your small fingers
Piano songs off time
Playing songs on the piano out of tempo
Wood teeth stained from the wine
Teeth made of wood which were colored by wine
Problems come in threes
Challenges usually come in groups of three
Then we beat them down
We overcome those challenges
Its nothing when compared
Those challenges are insignificant compared to other struggles
To the hangovers, we've shared
To the times when we were hungover together
But rents on time
We paid the rent on time
We've got cigs and cheap red wine
We have cigarettes and inexpensive wine
Come on and share my table
Join me at my table
And pour your heart into mine
Open up to me and share your emotions
Time can be so blunt 'til its no fun
Time can be boring and uninteresting
But all in all, time's treated us fine
Despite that, time has been kind to us
It ain't no use to act
It's pointless to pretend
Like we're mom and dad
To act as if we're parents
We've done enough of that
We've played that role too much already
Impressions, good and bad
People have different opinions of us
Flattering copycats
Imitators who flatter us
Caught digging through our trash
Caught rummaging through our garbage
Licking our rusty cans
Licking the corroded metal cans we've thrown away
Life in the frying pan
Life is full of challenges
Lucid trips in joy ride ships
Trips where we are aware of our surroundings while enjoying the ride
We watched the neon lights
We observed the bright, colorful city lights
A lovers ride to thaw out frigid times
A romantic ride to warm up the cold, harsh times we've been through
Contributed by Gabriel M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@alexolia7679
Babe don't give up yet
When we've come this far
Remember when we met
At the old Prospector
Blindfolded acid trips
Your tiny fingertips
Piano songs off time
Wood teeth stained from the wine
Problems come in threes
Then we beat them down
Its nothing when compared
To the hangovers, we've shared
But rents on time
We've got cigs and cheap red wine
Come on and share my table
And pour your heart into mine
Time can be so blunt 'til its no fun
But all in all, time's treated us fine
Time can be so blunt 'til its no fun
But all in all, time's treated us fine
It ain't no use to act
Like we're mom and dad
We've done enough of that
Impressions, good and bad
Flattering copycats
Caught digging through our trash
Licking our rusty cans
Life in the frying pan
Problems come in threes
Then we beat them down
Its nothing when compared
To the hangovers, we've shared
But rents on time
We've got cigs and cheap red wine
Come on and share my table
And pour your heart into mine
Time can be so blunt 'til its no fun
But all in all, time's treated us fine
Time can be so blunt 'til its no fun
But all in all, time's treated us fine
Lucid trips in joy ride ships
We watched the neon lights
A lovers ride to thaw out frigid times
Lucid trips in joy ride ships
We watched the neon lights
A lovers ride to thaw out frigid times
@losgrowlers
New! "Dream World” video premiere this Thursday, June 25, 7PM (LA time).
@prophecyrat2965
Metamorphosis?
@Optimistgus
Will never forget I herd ot for the first time on the radio while I was near denver
@dejesuslazo3540
Love the double meaning to finding love he’s literally searching for the Female who’s going to literally rip his head off but it’s okay as long as he’s not lonely
@bloodmoonangel8925
That's just how relationships work my dude
@uriah9559
literally.
@Huelogy
The female praying mantis bites the head off of the male after intercourse.
@EAndrePG
Dude, only female mantis do that with his partner, not males.
@wytdo99
How do you listen and understand both meanings as well? I didn't get that at all off the first or 100th listen.
@kyloben6518
1.Addicted to one song for 3 months
2. Life hits you differently
3. New/Old songs have a different meaning
4. Cycle resets