Philadelphia based singer-songwriter Grant Pavol released “Words To Say,” the third and final single from his debut album About A Year — out this Friday, September 4 via Shamir’s Accidental Popstar Records. Grant’s vocals echo over glistening guitar, as he explains the track: “The sample in the bridge is from a radio interview with Elliott Smith in which he discusses the way his music became more maximalist and hi-fi over the years. I thought it would be funny to put that in, seeing as my own musical work has followed a similar increasingly expansive trajectory.”

As the title implies, the album is “about a year” in Grant’s life between the end of high school and the end of his freshman year of college – a period of immense personal change, between his family’s health problems, move away from home, and worsening depression, which strained many personal relationships. “Words To Say” addresses one such experience directly. “It’s about running into a friend at a party after an unresolved spat. That weird tension that arises after you’ve argued with someone you care about, and haven’t yet resolved the issue,” Grant explains. In many ways, the album is about the concepts of change and success, and Grant’s own attempts to attain personal contentment in the midst of tumult and confusion. In the end, it’s about hope and how the struggle for joy can be won.
 
Grant met Shamir at DIY shows in Philadelphia, eventually signing to his record label and releasing the Okay EP. Born to a creative family of writers and musicians, Grant taught himself to play guitar as a teen and soon began performing at shows in Philadelphia. Like his influences Elliott Smith and Nick Drake, Grant’s vocals and lyrical melodies carry the sincerity of his sound. Whether he’s strumming his guitar in his bedroom or tracking songs in a friend’s living room, Pavol is always immersed in the craft of singing and songwriting – and he has his family, friends and Philly to thank for that. Pulling from minimalist composers, hip hop production, and ambient recordings, as well as ‘60s folk and country music, he recorded and produced this debut album himself in a dorm room during his freshman year of college.