Songs from the Shallow End: Shallow Alcove on Music, Friendship, and Finding Their Voice

In today’s feature, we dive into the heart of Shallow Alcove, an indie-folk band that blends heartfelt lyrics with the raw charm of DIY folk music. We caught up with Grace, the band’s vocalist and lyricist, to talk about the journey from basement shows to studio sessions, the inspiration behind their introspective songs, and the unique bond they share as friends. From their favourite themes to a deeper look at their latest single, Mangos, this interview unravels the stories that bring Shallow Alcove’s music to life.

Nicolle: Hi, Grace, first things first, could you introduce yourself and your band to our readers?

Grace: Shallow Alcove is a band of best friends that vent about their feelings together just like any other friend group, we just do it sung in harmony and with guitars. 

Nicolle: Why Shallow Alcove? Is there a funny or an embarrassing story behind the name?

Grace: The name “Shallow Alcove” comes from my bandmade Dan, who is the person that started this band long before we were even friends. He grew up in a beautiful old home in New Jersey, and there was a crawl space above his bedroom that he would write music in and lovingly referred to as a “shallow alcove”. 

Nicolle: Your music has been described as a tender soundtrack to young adulthood. How do you balance capturing the raw, diary-like emotions of growing up while also crafting catchy, relatable songs?

Grace: I think if you are honest enough, your music will always be relatable because none of our experiences are singular. Everything I have ever felt, no matter how strange or specific, I know millions of other people have felt the same way. All you have to do is be willing to say the full truth of a feeling, even if it’s about something as specific as getting naked and lighting off sparklers at a dead end, and someone will relate to it. 

Nicolle: Shallow Alcove's roots trace back to writing songs in bedrooms and basements. How has the transition to creating music in city apartments and studios influenced the band's sound or songwriting process?

Grace: As we have grown away from playing basements in college and have graduated to real venues, we try to stay close to that magic. We try to keep our process as DIY as possible. Even though we are older and have more access to studios, we still choose to make self-produced music in our houses for the most part. The main thing that has changed about our songwriting process is that we have been able to dedicate a lot more time to it, doing things like spending a couple of weeks in the woods to record songs, which has been awesome. 

Nicolle: Your song ‘Aim to Please’ is extremely relatable, what is the story behind it? 

Grace: “Aim to Please” is an autobiographical song. I am a raging people pleaser, especially in my late teens/early twenties. Saying no felt impossible, and a lot of times my inability to draw boundaries or advocate for my true desires led me down paths I did not want to go down. This song is about the frustration of growing up as a woman in a world where you’re taught that it’s more important to be sweet than to get what you need. 

Nicolle: If you could pick any artist to write a song with, who would it be?

Grace: Basic answer but Phoebe Bridgers. I’m a day-one ride-or-die. 

Nicolle: You have a new song called Mangoes about Emetophobia coming on October 25th, tell us more about the origin of the song.

Grace: Mangos was born on our first European tour. Before we left for the tour, I started to develop emetophobia and was struggling with panic attacks the whole time we were away. I was so excited about the opportunity and so desperately wanted it to be perfect that worked myself up to a heightened state of anxiety. At one point, I had to sit on a plane alone (something I was very scared of at the time) and all of these lyrics poured out of me. Later on, during a writing session, my bandmate Jack started playing the guitar part of Mangos and the lyrics fit perfectly over it.

We recorded the whole song that day. Having panic attacks so far from home and not understanding why they were happening was a very isolating experience that I am still grappling with. It’s the rawest song we have ever made, and it addresses emotions that I am very much still processing and figuring out. 

Nicolle: The themes of friendship, the changing seasons, and even bad haircuts resonate through your lyrics. Is there a particular personal experience or story behind any of these themes that holds special meaning for you?

Grace: Someone pointed out to me that we talk about hair a lot in our songs, which is true. I feel like hair is a huge indicator of what era someone is in and holds a lot of emotion for me. In our song “First November Snow”, we talk about a bad haircut in the lyric “Cut my hair myself, you said you’d never know”. This is about how when I first met my partner, who is the drummer of this band, I had the worst haircut of my ENTIRE LIFE. I had FRIED bangs and was possibly at my personal ugliest, which I just think is so funny that that is the person my partner fell in love with. Green flag. 

Nicolle: DIY folk music plays a significant role in your style. What drew you to this genre, and how do you keep that DIY spirit alive as the band grows and evolves?

Grace: I feel like DIY isn’t something you choose to turn to, it’s something you turn to out of necessity, which is something I love about it. Necessity breeds creativity. We all went to college at Syracuse University in upstate New York, and there was a very prevalent DIY scene there. People would use their college homes and turn them into fully functioning venues, throwing multiple shows a weekend in the basement or living room with a fully functioning bar (and sometimes even food) run by college kids. We would book touring and local acts, and these were some of the most formative musical experiences we had.

My friend Tom and I used to illegally serve homemade mac and cheese to hungry showgoers when they would come up from the basement after moshing with their friends. We learned here that anything is possible, and we don’t need permission from gatekeepers to make it happen. We had everything we needed. 

Nicolle: Collaborating with close friends can be both rewarding and challenging. How has your friendship with Dan and the rest of the band-shaped the creative direction of Shallow Alcove?

Grace: Making music with your friends is one of the greatest gifts. Our friendship absolutely shapes the way our music comes out. I think because we know each other so well and because we’re already familiar with what everyone is going through, we're comfortable being as honest as possible. Sometimes when we’re writing about a particular subject, Dan will bring up a memory from my life that even I forgot about and it will be the missing puzzle piece that I needed to finish the lyrics. 

As Shallow Alcove continues to captivate fans with their honest, soulful storytelling and DIY spirit, Grace’s words remind us that, at its core, music is about connection. With new releases and a growing audience, Shallow Alcove proves that some of the most moving art comes from authentic experiences and cherished friendships. Whether they’re tackling raw emotions, friendships, or the occasional bad haircut, this band’s music is here to resonate with anyone navigating the complexities of young adulthood. Keep an eye out for Mangos and the heartfelt stories that follow from this remarkable group.

Follow Shallow Alcove on IG and stream Mangoes on all streaming platforms

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Nicolle Knapova is a little bit of everything. She is a freelance translator, content creator and social media executive for The C Word Mag. She loves indie music and is always browsing through Spotify to find the next amazing artist to obsess over. Her love for storytelling means she’s always writing something and she’s not afraid of any genre. Her biggest dream is to be a published author. If she’s not writing her fan fiction, she’s writing her poetry and sharing it on her Instagram @elisecaverly.