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Syracuse University junior Sarah Gross relied on “That ’70s Show” to get through quarantine. This binge-watching inspired the song “The Other Side,” which is featured on her upcoming debut album “Songs from the Passenger Seat” coming out this December.

Ahead of the album’s debut, Gross will drop the lead single, and favorite of hers, “Arizona” on Friday. She also plans to release merchandise and music videos for her album in the coming weeks. The album has been pushed back since the spring, and the junior thinks it’s among some of her best work.

“What I have now is infinitely better than what I had before,” Gross said. “I genuinely like the music I am creating right now.”

Gross began tracking the album in February but struggled to find a sound she was truly proud of. With her previous EP and four singles, she focused on growing her name recognition with more pop and funk sounds to appeal to a larger audience.

Sarah Gross originally planned to release her album in the spring, but delayed it due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Annabelle Gordon | Asst. Photo Editor

But when she was sent back to Long Island in March because of COVID-19, Gross saw it as an opportunity and took the time over the COVID-19 lockdown to hone her music project.

“I am most proud of myself for giving myself time,” Gross said. “It was not trying to get in my head about the pressure of what other people are gonna think about it and just make music that I want to make.”

“Songs from the Passenger Seat” is more reflective of Gross’ own taste in music, with inspiration for the sound from artists such as Kacey Musgraves and Maggie Rogers.

Gross compiled a playlist of 17 songs that she referenced as she recorded. Because she loved the steel pedal guitar on Kacey Musgraves’ “Slow Burn” and “Golden Hour,” Gross incorporated the instrument into her own music. The acoustic and electronic elements of “Back in my Body” by Maggie Rogers also influenced Gross’ album.

In June, Gross started to rework the album, which was set for a spring release. Recording began in July at Silo Recordings, the studio of a family friend in Long Island, and will finish in Syracuse at both her home studio and SU’s Belfer Audio Laboratory and Archive studio.

During her time recording on Long Island, Gross worked with her sound engineer Bill Hafener. She recorded some vocals, guitar and flute there before coming back to Syracuse.

Due to the restrictions in SU’s studio, trying to keep all of the collaborators safe presented a challenge for Gross. The studio only allowed for one person to record at a time, so running recording sessions effectively was difficult as an artist and producer, Gross said.

The album has multiple collaborators, including a steel pedal guitarist from Australia, members from Gross’ band and singers from SU’s Main Squeeze a cappella group.

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Lauren Goodyear, one of Gross’ roommates and a contributing vocalist on the album, worked on backup vocals and harmonies for Gross’ album alongside vocalist Gillian Pelkonen. The trio sat in Pelkonen’s basement one night talking about Pelkonen’s relationship and decided to write a song about it. They started to sing harmonies together, and “Overload” developed from there.

“Every person in her life has contributed (to the album) in some way, maybe even if they don’t know it,” Goodyear said. “She has a lot of great connections with musicians. I think that wouldn’t get an opportunity to be on something if she hadn’t reached out to them.”

Nicholas Peta, an SU graduate student and instrumentalist on the album, has worked closely with Gross and helped her with the production of the album. One of Gross’ greatest abilities is bringing people together to make music through her talents as a lyricist, he said.

Peta specifically did a lot of work with Gross on the lead single, “Arizona.” Gross gave Peta an idea of what she wanted on the track and after multiple takes on piano, the two molded the final piano tracks for the song.

Both Peta and Goodyear describe “Songs from the Passenger Seat” as a very warm album in that listening to it almost feels like a “hug.” Gross hopes her audience finds the album comforting, especially in the current circumstances.

“Because we can’t connect in person, I really feel like for me, sharing my music with other people (and) working with other people is my way of reaching out … communicating and checking in,” Gross said.

Published on November 11, 2020 at 10:28 pm