Naked Giants talk lighthouse, burger metaphors, self-actualization

Photo by Jake Hanson

Henry LaVallee, the drummer for the alternative rock band Naked Giants, was once asked by a concert attendee why his band’s songs sounded like kids wrote them. 

Is that an insulting question? Probably, but with LaVallee’s answer, the concertgoer was actually right. At the time of the concert in question, it had been 10 years since the band wrote some of the songs that the concertgoer had questioned him about. In LaVallee’s words, that music in question was a bit more “youthful.”

With the release of their third record, “Shine Away,” the band — consisting of LaVallee, vocalist and guitarist Grant Mullen and bassist and vocalist Gianni Aiello — has done a lot of reflection, of which LaVallee’s noticing of their earlier youthful tendencies is a part of. The band, to Mullen, has self-actualized, and the entire album helps Naked Giants reflect on their decade of existence. 

“We’re just beginning to be able to look back on it because it’s more recent, and say, ‘Oh, what does this make us think about this time?,’ but it is really looking back on… the leaving behind completely… of youthful pleasures,” Mullen told The Panther. “That was a mark in the sand of letting go of some unhealthy things and real maturity beginning.” 

The Panther talked with the band about their latest release, When asked about what qualifies as a “good” song, all three band members offered up their interpretations.

“I would say a great song is human, it’s relatable in some sense, it’s interesting — it has some intrigue or interest, it may or may not be technically skillful and it’s written well,” Mullen told The Panther. “It’s packaged in a form that makes it digestible and somewhat addictive.”  

Naked Giants recently finished their tour in support of “Shine Away,” and being on the road for travel means many stops at multiple fast food chains. To Aiello, a good song is like a familiar burger the band would frequently have while traveling.

“(What makes a song ‘good’) is the same thing that makes a burger good. There’s this balance of familiarity and surprise I guess, and a constant freshness,” he said. “Take an In-N-Out burger. It might not be the most outstanding burger you’ve ever had, but it’s consistently very fresh.” 

He continued: “If a song can do that for you, each time you listen to it you feel like, ‘Oh, I can sing along to the chorus but it’s still giving me that same feeling that it gave me the first time I listened to it,’ I’d say that’s probably the mark of a good song.” 

“Shine Away,” takes influence from a host of indie and alternative rock legends, like Oasis, Radiohead and The Killers. There’s also influence from Neil Young, R.E.M’s “Radio Free Europe” and Pavement.

To Aiello, “Shine Away” represents a reflection of Naked Giants throughout their decade of existence. The record, to Aiello, is more relaxed than their previous works; in his words, the band “got deeper into our sense of self” and paid attention to creating pieces that they would want to play, as opposed to tracks tailored to certain audiences.  

“We missed out on the marketing aspect of this being our ten year anniversary of being a band because honestly, that feels to me very indicative of what the record is,” he said. “It’s like, ‘OK, we started out as little teenagers and now we’re late 20s, emerging on 30,’ and how can we make sense of being in this rock band when we’re not just little youthful teens anymore? I think that was kind of the background. Maybe not the purposeful inspiration for the music, but that definitely informed the way that we approached the record.”

At the time of The Panther’s interview, Mullen had recently watched a video of the band playing in 2018, which incited in him a moment of reflection. Looking back on his initial dream of being a musician when he was 15 years old through to the band’s current status, Mullen explained that, despite performing for crowds and having his dream accomplished, he didn’t feel that the band was self-actualized.

“And then with everything that went on after (becoming a known band), with growing up and going through the pandemic where we couldn’t play music for people, and then coming out of that and writing a record, ‘Shine Away’ is like the beginning of self-actualization, for each of us individually that we put into our songwriting and then as a band… it’s not this kind of dream with no meaning behind it, like a burger with no meat,” Mullen said. “We gotta put the meat in the burger and cook it with flavor and seasoning.”

On the note of themes, Aiello mused that the band’s approach to creating a piece of music is a mixture of coming into a project with lyrical messages and themes in mind while also having an “ethos” that aligns and conflicts with an intended theme. 

To Mullen, it’s even simpler: he questions whether or not a piece feels “good” or “right.” One of the themes he offered up was a story of redemption, embarking from a place of emptiness to one of purpose. Aiello looks to the album’s finale as the band reaching self-actualization and moving into a new era and potential place of uncertainty — which inspired Mullen with the analogy of a lighthouse, which decorates the album’s cover. 

“The lighthouse beacon shines as a warning signal. It’s basically saying, ‘Don’t crash.’ It’s a beacon in the night of, ‘Be cautious, be careful and watch out,’ and there’s a lighthouse keeper,” Mullen told The Panther. “And the lighthouse must shine away in order to continue shining, regardless of the weather or anything else, as a reminder of where to tread and where to not tread. In a way, maybe this record is us saying, with a beacon, to continue reminding us where to not tread anymore and where is safe water…” 

The band has finished their tour for “Shine Away,” but students wanting to catch them at a later date can expect a fun time. 

“Naked Giants, at its core, it’s just fun, party rock music,” Aiello said. “Just come out and have a big smile on your face and get ready to bop around and be carefree.”

Discussing live shows, LaVallee commented on the band having fun with one another while performing and the work ethic of their entire crew.

“They can expect us to laugh with each other,” LaVallee told The Panther. “We are constantly making each other giggle on stage with musical nods. They can also expect to see people at work doing it themselves. There is, I think, a DIY within our ethos… because we don’t use a tour manager, we just trust the local sound people, Gianni really leads the charge on merch, we’re booking our own hotels, we’re driving all ourselves.”

LaVallee continued: “The effort and the sweat behind the show comes out in our playing. It’s like, this is why we have bad sleeps and leave home for a little bit. It’s for the performance that we love to do.” 

Students can keep up with Naked Giants by visiting their website and following their Instagram page. “Shine Away,” and other music from the band,  is available to stream on Spotify.