Sarah Gross
Some Words About The Riversides
I always thought my town had such interesting characters. It’s not the prettiest, but it’s special. All of the songs on ‘The Riversides’ are real stories I’ve experienced in my hometown. My main influences for this album came from listening to a lot of folk and country music with my family. As I close this chapter of being a college student in my life, the creation of this EP was a reflective experience for me to get closure on where I grew up.
“Morningside”
Being from Long Island, a love for the ocean unified our community. I grew up right on the water, read all of my favorite books on my dad’s small fishing boat, and have written many songs with references to the ocean. The song “Morningside” is no exception. As I prepare myself to move away from my childhood home, I find myself very appreciative that I grew up where I did. This is an ode to that.
“Amy”
This is a friendship breakup song. Friend breakups hurt! They honestly hurt more than a romantic breakup because the person knows you so well and it’s always unexpected when you break. One line that sums it up for me is, “You’ve become estranged to what I sow, I’ll reap them as they grow”. Sometimes we grow out of our friendships though, and that’s okay. This is a song about that.
“Undertow”
“Undertow” is about the ugliness of self-sabotage. It tells a story about the urge to get the last word when you know a relationship is about to end. My favorite part about this song is the strings. It’s so cinematic and it ties all of the different influences behind the production together.
“Osprey Park”
The title comes from a park I used to go to after school with my boyfriend. There is a story behind it about how we once got so lost in just innocent conversation that his car died there and we got in trouble with the cops. We were so young and have grown so much since then. This song is about the anxiety of growing into adulthood and wanting the support of your loved ones as you become something less familiar.
“June”
This is the most recent song that I wrote on ‘The Riversides’. I wrote this during a songwriting club where the prompt was “Write a song about summer”. This was 2020, so we were all still in quarantine. I got very close with my family during that time. This is also my grandma’s favorite song, so naturally, it’s the most important one to me on the EP, duh.
The Riversides Cover Artwork / Click to Listen!