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Celestial fisher of melodies and sonic sunshines, Briston Maroney is better than you at many things, but creating an absolute star chart of album is definitely one of them. Briston, a Tennessee-by-way-of-Florida indie rock adventurer, has come into a phase very few songwriters surmount, heightened in awareness, deep in experiences that flesh out beautiful songs, but still full of the bright curiosity that made his music so wondrous off prior albums. In short his latest album JIMMY is a crescendo of possibilities, a visual novel set to music that rifts between silly imagination, profound introspection and cheeky self awareness, a tribute to existing, to be oneself. We were lucky enough to have Briston join us in our basement content hovel for a chat to reveal the pensive, smart talent was an intimate delight, and here are his words: 

Why are you an artist? 

I was not gonna make it playing D1 basketball. 

How close were you? 

Very far away. 

Can you do a finger roll? 


Mm hmm. I can do a little finger roll. I spend a whole summer with my cousin kind of figuring that out. 


You point guard? 

Yeah, I was a point guard. I've hooped with the meat a couple times. Can hang in there with the big dog. So, you know, if the dribbled jump shot wasn't working, a beautiful chord structure, lyrical composition was like the alternate. Yeah, that's my pick and roll. 


Was there anything else in competing with music for what you’d spend your life pursuing? 

I was always pretty drawn to doing this. I didn’t know what it would look like structurally, but I always knew I would pursue music. I never planned on making money doing this, but I knew I would be here. 

Is music in your blood at all?

Yes, my dad’s side. He's pretty musical. My grandpa was musical too, but he was a party trick kind of guy. He just would get drunk and play covers of old country songs. 


That sounds like every musician I know. 

Yes, he is no different than the rest of us. 

Were you encouraged, then, to express yourself as such? 

Not without apprehension, but ultimately very encouraged. My folks knew this is what I love to do. 

At what point would you say you burnt your other bridges and completely dove into music?

Actually I was just reminded of this. There’s a video my friend took of me calling my dad and telling him I was dropping out of school to go on my first tour. He was really quiet, and I’m like, “Are you there?” And he says, “You will regret this decision for the rest of your life.” 

That’s a reality TV line. 

It was pretty awesome. My friend who took the video, he’s a musician as well, and is blowing up right now. It’s just so funny to both of us – we lived in the laundry room of this house together and had these huge dreams, and now it’s happening. 

That’s so special. How long would you say you’ve been writing songs? 

Gosh, I was 9 or 10 when I started. 

Are you at the point now where you have a process? Does something work for you every time? 

I think so, it’s a similar outline most times, but I’m pretty undisciplined in writing. I’m not the kind of person to flex the muscle a lot. I wait for a spark and I chase that. So that’s the thing I’ve honed in on over the past few years. It’s the patience. 

What is the spark – melody, lyrics, a color, something abstract? 

It’s all relative. The most common thing for me is a melody and lyric combo happening at once. It’s annoying, I’ll ruminate on one line or melody over and over and can’t get it out of my head until I can sit down and flesh it out. It feels like I’m chasing something, though, rather than conjuring it from nothing. 

How long does it take for that earworm in your head to become a song? 

Best case scenario, it’s half an hour. Any song I have released and recorded has probably been written in under an hour. I’m never really a person to chip away, like I can tell pretty quickly if an idea is going to float or not. 

Sounds like you must have a large volume of songs then. 

If songs is a generous term, then yes. “Sketches,” maybe, I have a lot of. 

From a stranger’s perspective, you strike me as an “album” artist. Maybe it’s because these ideas seem to consume you, but it’s a weighty characteristic. You’re celebrating your album JIMMY – in an era where albums are very at odds with the attention span of the audience, what does it mean to you to create an album? 

I think I try to stay really conscious of my place in all of it, and stay self-aware that I can’t make someone take my record more seriously than I take other people’s records. Making a record that’s dense is a lot to ask of people these days, so if I make the choice to do that, I want to make it from a place of feeling compelled to, not because I was trying to make a statement or have anticipation that people will listen to it. It’s more valuable to me within my own life to focus on making what I want to make, regardless of duration, and just hope that the impact of the art and doing what I want to do resonates with people. 

Do you listen to albums often? 

I have my fixations, but I’m a liar. I’ll say I love an album and I really just heard the first three songs and dug those vibes. 

Love the transparency. Does your work speak to each other? Is this album interacting with previous or upcoming works, or is it just a moment in time? 

This record is singular, so far. But, they always have a way. The same way that the world is really small, music always finds a way back to the next thing. I did do a really self-indulgent thing the other night, though, and looked through all of my Canvases on Spotify. I was super stoned in the Airbnb, trying to view my Canvases as a stranger… like how do I come across to a person who doesn’t know me? And I was like… this guy has a good thing going on! This is a goofy guy trying his best. It was a nice moment to be reminded that although I’m so often in my head and reinventing my mind, we’re all just who we are. 

So for your music, what is the North Star of your creation? 

I would say honesty. Wherever I’m at. 

Is that you speaking to yourself, like a reckoning? 

Totally, it’s a diary mentality, in the hopes people can relate to where I’m at and visa versa. I’m always wanting to use music to tell people how I’m feeling. No expectation for people to listen to it, but it’s a vessel to explain. 

The self dialogue is fascinating. Do you ever revisit that communication with yourself? 

Sometimes. It often cringes me out. 

Like a bad photograph, or a yearbook?

Exactly. It’s fun when I’m in a place to be able to look fondly on those memories. But because it’s such a vivid conversation with myself, sometimes it’s too much for me to try and go back to my past music. I get sucked back into that time.

For this album, JIMMY, is there a goal, or a peak, if everything goes well? 

Ideally, I just want this to be people’s favorite, if they’re discovering this. I’m not concerned about it competing in any commercial sense, but I would love for it to be a record that gives people an outlet the way people have given ME an outlet through music. I want it to be a mutualistic conversation. It’d be dope to go to shows and feel like people resonated with the songs. 

How conscious are you of the audience when you’re putting together an album? 

My relationship to that has changed a bit, I was a lot more conscious of it in the past. Like, literally writing lyrics with the intention of like, “okay, if someone hears this, will they understand that I’m on their team?” I was wanting them to know I relate, and that we can relate to each other. With this record, though, I’m reverting back to how I got into writing songs, which was more based in the faith that people would understand, regardless of if it made sense. It was trust. 

Like, I’ve been a Bon Iver fan since I was a kid, and there’s such a cloud within everything he’s saying, but somehow it meant everything to me, without needing ti know exactly when and where and who and how. So just having some faith that the spirit of something is equally as valuable in our connection. 

There definitely is a spirituality to your music that more straightforward pop doesn’t entail. Where do you think that comes from? 

That’s cool to hear. I think it’s just who I am as a person. I grew up with a positive relationship to spirituality – I did not hold on to as much of the religion I grew up around, though. But I embraced the freedom to explore it. 

Amazing. I’m always curious to hear from touring artists their advice to impart on up and coming artists about tour. 

Especially for a North American artist, there are no shortcuts. It’s just drives. Putting in the time. As far as tips or advice goes, I’ve been on the road for what feels like the last five years straight, and the biggest takeaway is to prioritize your well-being. I sacrificed a lot of comfort for the first couple of years to be cool, like the rock and roll of it all. But it’s cool to be aware of the impact you’re having on your body and mind, and to take care of yourself. Prioritize that, and make sure to tour with people you love, both within your own team and the other bands you tour with. I tour with my best friends, we’ve made it a community, and it really helps. 

If you could support any artists, dead or alive, who would you want to open for? 

They just announced that Modest Mouse is doing a festival with Flaming Lips, Courtney Barnett, Built to Spill…. That’s a dream. 

What about a band you would love to open for you? 

We’re going out with a band called Bunny from Chicago, and I’m a huge fan of them. I just love touring with my friends. Cameron Schmidt is someone I work on a bunch of music with, his record is really cool, and we should play some shows together. But it feels weird to say because he’s one of my best friends. I should text him right now. 

How do you relax? Are you capable of relaxing? 

I’ve done a little better in the past year or two. I like to be outside a lot, even if I’m not doing anything, that’s super healing for me. Music is still my passion, even when I’m not working on it, so a walk and a Spotify deep dive trying to find new bands to scratch an emotional itch, that’s my favorite thing to do. I love finding a YouTube video that has like 23 views. 

That’s our lane, too. If you could cook a meal for all your favorite people, what would you make? 

Probably the only thing I could pull off is some grilling… maybe steaks, some burgers, some fries. We’re not getting fancier than that.

If you could reincarnate in any era, as anything, what would you be? 

I’ve always said my alternate path would be working in a national park, doing trail guiding. There’s probably a world where I still end up doing that, which would be so fun. 

Who are your OnesToWatch? Who are you listening to that we should be listening to? 

I have to say Cameron Schmidt and Bunny. Also Hasan and the Spirits. He has this band back in the day called Kurtle Motif, and it’s kind of Neutral Milk Hotel adjacent. They’re keeping that vibe alive. Eden Joel is another amazing one. 

Those are awesome. We’ll catch you on tour with Peach Pit!

Thank you so much!