shallow pools want their music to empower you to be yourself

Hailing from Boston, shallow pools are making waves in the indie-pop scene with their new music video for “turnaround,” exclusively premiering with AltPress.

Composed of drummer Ali Ajemian, guitarist Jess Gromada, bassist Haley Senft and vocalist Glynnis Brennan, the band are four queer individuals and longtime friends. They shared that their goal is “to promote inclusivity and create a safe space for listeners to express themselves.”

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The pop outfit do just that and more in their fourth single of the year. In 2020 alone, they have already released melodic and undeniably catchy tunes such as “Haunted,” “Bloom” and “Afterlight.” 

In addition to the music video, shallow pools are also donating 100% of proceeds from a new “turnaround”-inspired shirt to the Marsha P. Johnson Institute, which defends and protects the rights of black transgender people. You can see the shirt below and grab yours here.

AltPress had the chance to chat with shallow pools about their new music video for “turnaround” and how they advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. Check out the full interview and new music video below.

Your music video is colorful, fun and even a bit nostalgic. How did you arrive at this idea? What inspired you to make this music video?

ALI AJEMIAN: We had been wanting to make a super-fun video that didn’t really follow a plot for a while, and “turnaround” felt like a perfect fit. It’s all about feeling like you’re on the right track and being excited about the future, so we wanted the video to feel like a big party.

Does living and creating in Boston have any influence on your music? Is the alternative scene in Boston a good place to share your music and practice your craft?

JESS GROMADA: The Boston music scene feels like a big family no matter what genre of music you play. Everyone is always super supportive of each other.

HALEY SENFT: We are very inspired by the Boston scene as well. We’re working on a song right now that has a sample from the orange line in it. The city itself has inspired some visual ideas that might be coming soon, too. 

How do you advocate for the LGBTQ+ community through your art? How do you create a safe environment for diverse audiences at your shows? 

GLYNNIS BRENNAN: As members of the community, everything we put out is a reflection of a part of the LGBTQ+ experience. We’re lucky that the people who come to our shows are pretty diverse, and we want to keep it that way. Knowing that people who’ve gone through completely different experiences can relate to what we’re writing about is really cool. We don’t have time for anyone who threatens that open/safe space at our shows. 

AJEMIAN: Representation is super important, so we are hopeful that just being four queer people creating and playing together will help people that are like us feel inspired to do the same. 

What personal experiences, if any, helped shape the lyrics to “turnaround”?

GROMADA: We had a lot of trouble figuring out what kind of music we wanted to be making for a while. Once we stopped worrying about fitting into specific genres, we finally started making music we love. We wrote “turnaround” about that experience and feeling excited for the future of the band.

What messages do you hope listeners take away from “turnaround”? When you examine your discography as a whole, what are some of your favorite lessons or stories you’ve shared in your songs?

GROMADA: We want “turnaround” to empower people to be themselves and not feel like they have to be what others want them to be. 

BRENNAN: We talk a lot about mental health in our songs, which I think is super important. I know for me, it’s nice to hear songs that you can relate to in that vein—it definitely makes you feel more connected to people.

How have you been staying creatively in tune with yourselves and with your bandmates during quarantine?

AJEMIAN: Luckily, we all live together, so we’ve still been able to do a lot of writing. We definitely miss playing shows, but it will be nice to come out of this with a ton of new material.

BRENNAN: We’ve been doing some livestreams on Instagram, which we’d never done before quarantine. That’s allowed us to rework some of our songs and play them in ways we wouldn’t normally at live shows.

What can listeners expect within the year? What do you hope to accomplish in 2020?

SENFT: We have been working on a lot of new music and content. Hopefully, we can share some of it this year and play shows again when it’s safe to do so. We are definitely excited to just keep creating in 2020.

You can stay up to date with shallow pools on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.