josh conway’s Debut Album Opened a New Door for Self Discovery

Staple member of The Marías josh conway discovers a different side of himself through the creation of plum, his first record as a solo artist.

PHOTOS BY EMILY ENTZ

josh conway, the creative mastermind and key force behind eclectic indie rock group The Marías, is emerging from the world of collaboration to try his hand at fronting his own project — one that’s dreamy sonic texture allows for subtle intimacy through a more personally-driven approach to lyricism. For the first time, the LA-born multi-instrumentalist is releasing music as a solo artist, with his debut record, plum, to release June 12. 

As we navigated time zones and briefly chatted about pets in the peripheral of Zoom calls, Conway sat down with Pleaser to talk all about creative direction, the symbolism behind polar bear visuals threaded through plum and finding yourself through music that takes a more solitary form of expression. 

“My favorite part about recording this album was going to Joshua Tree with two of my closest friends,” Conway told Pleaser. “We spent five days there, and just set up a living room where we wrote and recorded a lot of these songs. It was the first time I’ve sort of been the lead singer. In a lot of these jams, I’m the producer. When I do trips like this, I’m on the computer working, and I’m not singing. This was the first time where I just had a mic and I was letting my two friends handle the other side of it. That was a really pivotal moment for me. I’d never got to experience the freedom of being the lead singer.” 

Building his career on a foundation of audio-centric technicalities, Conway has spent the past few years of his life shaping his own definition of production. Through wildly successful projects like The Marías, as well as collaborative efforts with high-profile artists like Bad Bunny, Conway’s reputation as a technical songsmith, drummer and DJ (among other things) have already put his name on the map. Now, as he leaps into the world of plum, fans are getting to see a completely different side of Conway that feels different from his past projects, but in the sense that all of his older work has led up to what he’s creating now.

plum is considerably eccentric sonically, creating texture through complex production that feeds into a fun, more playful listening experience. It’s the type of music that, upon first listen, is easy to nod along to, infiltrating the body in a way that only a well-produced song can accomplish. “crumble,” one of two singles already released from the record, sounds like it might be played at an after-hours event, or perhaps a 360 pop-up show at a music festival at 2 a.m. It’s easy to move to, with tech-pop synthesizers feeling like a room full of sweaty bodies. 

Behind the instrumentation, though, hides a heavier-hitting side of the song. Lyrics like “There’s a hurricane on the horizon / Standing on the hill I’m gonna die on / I can feel the walls are crumbling” allude to a deeper feeling that adds more weight to the overall vibe of the music while still maintaining a pleasurable listening experience.

“I wanted something that wasn’t too serious. I didn’t want to take myself too seriously, like dramatic singing to the camera. Everything on the visual side of the project is more fun rather than moody and serious, because I think some of the lyrics are moody and serious,” Conway said. “The whole thing doesn’t take itself too seriously, but lyrically, it’s a bit more serious.”

Each song on the record is about a relationship of some sort, according to Conway, whether it be a romantic partner, a friendship or ties to a past self, like in the track “everywhere.” from plum, where he speaks directly to his middle school self. 

“There’s a song on the album called ‘everywhere.’ and that’s a song of me writing to myself a middle schooler,” Conway told Pleaser. “At the time, I had written my first song, and I had released a music video for it. This was kind of around the early days of YouTube, and social media. It got pretty made fun of online, and I think that was a big moment in my career as an artist. It made me feel like, maybe I don’t want to be in the spotlight. That’s when I switched to drums. But in that song, it’s me talking to my middle school self and just letting him know where his life went.” 

The record’s name itself holds literal and metaphorical significance. Conway told Pleaser that he came up with the name for the record to allude to carpentry. When panelling aligns perfectly and you're ready to move forward with the next step, the walls are considered to be plumb. The fruit naturally plays a role in the name of the record, as well. With a sweet, soft outside and a hard, disgusting inside, it’s a sturdy comparison to the album’s upbeat first listen, compared to the heavier conversations that start to open up once you really dive into Conway’s lyricism. 

In between visuals of animated polar bears, synthetic beats and lyricism that makes you think, Conway’s debut record plum doesn’t take itself too seriously, but still allows space for self-discovery.