Many may recognize grentperez from his viral Youtube videos, but now with his new love-filled album, “Backflips in a Restaurant,” fans are falling harder in love with the Australian singer-songwriter. Also known as Grant Perez, he explores different genres with this new album, and questions love from chasing someone to entertaining the “what if’s?”
Most famously known for his song, “Cherry Wine,” Perez has made a name for himself and this album is evidence.
The album starts with “Nice to Meet You,” a minute and 51 second track that sets the tone for the rest of the project perfectly. The lyrics are filled with nostalgia, and looking back on what could have been. It is a short, but sweet track, that is filled with gentle rock-like guitar in the background.
“Fuzzy Feeling,” released in 2024, also made it into the album. In collaboration with Benny Sings, a Dutch songwriter, this track takes listeners through the desire of falling in love with someone.
Perez sings, “The puzzle piece that I’ve been trying to find, and/You’re like medicine for the weak, you give me confidence/When I speak, is this what love is?/Like, am I losing my mind?” This upbeat song takes fans on the ride of falling for someone, while also not being able to explain that “fuzzy feeling in my chest.”
The track preceding “Fuzzy Feeling” explores how a platonic relationship can turn romantic. He pulls out the “what if?” questions, while also knowing it feels wrong to fall in love with this platonic partner. Funnily enough the track is titled, “Falling for a Friend,” and Perez does not fail to explain this inescapable feeling.
With jazzy background instrumentals, Perez sings, “What if we met again?/And said all the right things from the start?” He explores what would happen if the friendship started off as a romantic interest. Perez also can’t help but be hurt if the love interest were to fall in love with someone else and slip away from his arms.
“Falling for a Friend” somehow puts into words what many feel, but are unable to express.
“Headspace” and “Reason Why” both touch on themes of insecurity, but both in a different way. “Headspace” is a more upbeat and fast-moving track that explores self-worth insecurities, as well as mental health. In this track, Perez reassures that whatever his love interest is going through, that it will be okay. He is there to listen to complaints and access his love as a resource to make his lover feel better. It hones in the idea that the best thing one could do at times is just listen.
“Reason Why” has the same idea, yet it is slower and tender. At first listen, this track feels like a warm hug from a partner when you need it the most. Perez sings how he can see right through his love interest, and he knows when something is wrong. However, he is trying to express how much this person means to him.
He sings, “Wish I could show you just how much I adore you/Can’t afford to leave out any reason why,” he goes on to sing how he views his partner as a “masterpiece” and whatever they may do is perfect in his eyes. He ends the track with, “If only you could see/I’ll show you every reason why/It’s evergreen.”
“Reason Why” is filled with pure love, coming straight from the bottom of Perez’s heart. It shows how much he recognizes the other person’s beauty.
From being so deeply in love to delusions, “Everest,” the seventh track on the album, explains the extent he will go for someone. He sings how he would climb mountains and even make the sun shine through the clouds just for one person. Perez may be touching on his delusional side, but the lyrics offer a sweet sentiment on how far love is able to take him.
It’s hard to be a love-filled album without singing about the struggles of long distance. From the start, “12065” explains how it is not the same without his love interest next to him, especially with an immense time difference. He sings, “In a dream while you’re starting your day/How does it feel all alone with that hole in your bed?/Making shapes with your body, in the space that I left.”
Fans feel the heartbreak with this three-minute track from start to finish. Listeners are able to feel the loneliness that Perez is so desperately trying to convey. In a way, the lyrics, obviously, explore loneliness, but the softer instrumentals also make Perez seem all alone in this track.
Perez gorgeously ends the album with, “Yours to Keep,” which seems to paint the perfect picture of a loving couple. He explains how his heart will be with the other person until it is no longer beating, confessing his undying love to his partner. For those looking for a song for their first dance at a wedding, this track not only pulls some tears, but it will warm the heart.
Nonetheless, “Backflips in a Restaurant” explores almost every pathway to love, finishing with a picture-perfect happy ending. Perez may be a young artist, but his work does not go unnoticed, and with this new release, fans are excited to see what’s next to come for the 23-year-old.
