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Photo by Yulissa Benitez

Aging is inevitable. As you approach milestone ages, a range of emotions can accompany, sometimes excitement, sometimes dread. As New York City-based artist Sean Dunnevant, better known as Glom, approached 30, he set out to create an honest, direct album about his emotions around the milestone. As he walked through the cold streets of NYC, Glom took the time to tell us all about his musical inspirations, and go to coffee order. 

OnesToWatch: Congratulations on the record! I really enjoyed listening to it and I’m excited for everyone else to get to listen to it.

Glom: Thank you! I’ve been kind of removed from it for a while because of the fact that I recorded it several years ago. At this point it’s really nice to have the privilege of getting people to hear it. 

On this record you said you wanted the lyrics to be a more direct reflection of what was happening in your life. Did you consciously make this decision or did you start writing songs and realize that they were a bit more reflective?

My process is pretty interesting because I tend to struggle with lyrics. I usually have songs finished prior to writing the lyrics for them. I’ll have the full form out and then the lyrics are added at the end. At the time of recording I was really into music that was very raw. At the time I was really into, I still am into this band, Third Eye Blind, their first album, and those lyrics were very autobiographical, but still veiled. I was very interested in the idea of being literal. So much of my earlier output had been veiled and I wanted to try and do something different, so that if someone who had no context of who I was listened to these words it’d be like “Oh this is just a routine.” That’s the way I try to just let the words come out and not change them and make them more metaphorical. I kept them literal, that’s really the only way to say it. I like the way the lyrics are. For the stuff that has already been released people have responded pretty well to the lyrics which is cool. I’ve been asked this question a lot in the past couple months and it’s a funny thing to try and dissect after the fact. Like I said I’m not very good with lyrics but at the end of the day I’m not going to put something out there that has trash lyrics. At the time when I was recording it, I remember a lot of music that was popular was ethereal, around 2023, and I wanted to do something not like that, lean into a hardcore thing where there’s no layer. Like with the song “Mirror,” it’s just factual information. That was an interesting change for me that I’d never done before.  

Is there a lyric that you’re particularly proud of?

Oh man. On this record the lyrics on “Window” are my favorite. That one I was able to capture exactly the frustration that I was feeling at the time. The other songs, like with “Glass” for example, I like the lyrics on “Glass” but there’s something about the lyrics I wrote on “Window” that capture exactly what I was thinking, which I’ve never really tapped into before. It’s also interesting because those lyrics are a little stream of consciousness. I like the first line of that song “Caffeine makes it easy / My heart must be made of stones / I’ll take antihistamines when I get home.” I don’t even really know what that means but I feel it. There’s a song that hasn’t been released yet, it comes out with the album, and that is literally just factual information. It’s about a time that I had at the doctor, that one’s called “Doxycycline,” it’s the shortest one. When we were recording it I had a second verse but the producer was like “I think it’s better just talking about what happened at the doctor’s office and not going any deeper.” That’s why the song is only like a minute long. 

You’ve mentioned “Mirror” a few times. Would you say that you were most excited for fans to hear that song, or was there another song you were most excited about?

If you asked me that question in 2023 I would say “Mirror.” I thought “Mirror” was one of my most proud works. And “Virginia.” I really liked “Virginia” at the time. Not saying that I don’t like it now of course! Today, I’m really excited for people to hear “Teeth.” That one for me, those lyrics and energy and attitude, still ring true for me today, it still feels relevant. I’m excited for people to hear that one!

A lot of this album was written around the time that you turned 30 and it easily could’ve been a very melancholy “Oh my God I’m turning 30” sound but it’s very upbeat. How did you develop the sound we hear on the album?

That is a great question that no one has asked. Here’s what happened. In 2022, right before I started writing the songs, we played a show with Alex G. I was really, really moved by that show. I had never seen him before, we’re the same age, and from relatively the same area, so he would play a lot and a lot of people I knew from high school and college were into him, but I never went to a show. I don’t know, at that time I wasn’t going to shows. So that show that I played with him was the first time I saw him. I think we were both 29 years old, almost 30. I was just really moved by the emotion. However, I felt that some of it was slow and kind of sad. So I was like “How can I make a song that has the same vibe and emotional connection, something that moves me, but you can still vibe to it, even if it’s a little depressing?” So what happened is I wrote all these songs without drums, and then I would use pretty well established drum and bass drum loops, including “The Amen Break” which is like the most sampled drum pattern of all time. I used that as the bassline for all the songs essentially, and then recorded over that and sped it up or slowed it down. That was really it. That’s why the majority of the record has a bouncier feel despite the fact that what I’m talking about is kind of sad. 

I do love that though when you listen to a song and first listen you’re dancing around and then on further listens you really hear the lyrics.

Not to go back to the Third Eye Blind thing but that’s an example of where my inspiration came from. “Semi Charmed Life,” which is like their biggest song, if you listen to the lyrics it’s really dark. It’s about him on meth. And it’s like “How did he write a song that was this poppy, this catchy but also super poignant?” That has fascinated me for years. I wanted to feel like you have to dig a little deeper into it despite the fact that it’s bouncy. And that’s been an overarching theme for Glom since the beginning. I’ve always wanted it to be groove oriented. Every song is around the same BPM, and it’s a mid tempo BPM, because when I was 18 or 19 I was obsessed with Daft Punk. I was reading about when they recorded music they’d use the same BPMs, between 120 and 135 or 140, which is pretty close to a normal into elevated heartrate, and I just internalized that. 

Do you have any advice for people approaching this big milestone age of 30?

Oh man. 30 is the new 20 in my opinion, and 50 is the new 30. There’s been a lot of people that have gotten successful in their 50s. Just because society tells you that 30 is a milestone age, doesn’t mean you have to act it. You have to grow up a little, but it’s ok to be 30 and still pursue art. 

Now it’s my turn to bring it back to Third Eye Blind because you mentioned being inspired by them, also Smashing Pumpkins. Are there any other artists you were inspired by for this record, or in general. 

The overarching thing for Glom has always been Sonic Youth. They’re an incredible example of what a band can accomplish. The game that I’ve always tried to play is taking vibes from bands that are slightly inaccessible, like Sonic Youth a lot of their music is inaccessible to the average listener because they’re pushing the avant garde. My whole thing is to take that energy and adapt it to songs that are songs, traditional songs. Another example, when Radiohead started ripping off Aphex Twin, I don;t think they get enough credit for taking a sound that was super inaccessible and writing songs in that style and sound. That’s what I try to do on a smaller scale. Another band I’m always inspired by is 1988 into 1990 My Bloody Valentine, those specific years. Elliot Smith of course. A sleeper one is Joni Mitchell. Her guitar tunings are very inspirational to me. THe song “Coyote,” I’ve been chasing that vibe since the beginning of this band. There’s just something about the way she plays guitar that I want to model myself after. I don’t think anyone would pick this out, but the “Glass” riff is me kind of trying to rip off Joni. The typical stuff, the Beatles. 

You’re playing Kilby Block Party in 2026. How do you prepare for festival performances?

Another great question. For shows in general I have a pre show ritual. When people go on tour usually, a lot of people like to go to a landmark or a nice restaurant in the city. When I get to a venue, I can’t leave. I’m so keyed up that I don’t leave. Everyone else will leave and do their thing for a few hours, and I’ll stay there. I’m not even necessarily doing anything, that’s a facade. I want them to think I’m working but I’m not. But with festivals, there’s nowhere to go, you can’t really go. Before the Kilby show we have to drive like 13 hours so I’ll probably sleep. But I don’t know the schedule. Who knows who will be playing on our day. I’m pretty sure we play early, if it’s midday I’ll probably go see some stuff. 

You made a TikTok using “Window” and called it a song about drinking too much coffee. What’s your go to coffee order?

I have it down to a science at this point. I used to drink A LOT of coffee. Like four to five cups, some of them were cold brews. I don’t know what happened. Pre 30 I could drink a lot of coffee. Then a year or two ago I had to start tapering off and now I’m at one coffee a day, but here’s the order. If I’m at a shop, cortado. I used to be an oat milk cortado guy. I used to be an oat milk person, now I’m whole milk. If I’m at home, it’s drip. We used to be a cold brew household, not anymore! Me and my fiancee started getting too buzzed, like a debilitating buzz. I have a 5 cup Mr Coffee drip machine. That’s like the final form for coffee. 

Who are your OnesToWatch? 

Well I have to do an obligatory shoutout to the people in Glom. The drummer has released an EP under the name Sasha Hello. The bass player has a project named Furrows. Great vibe, really great production and songwriting. Buffchick, great vibe. Snowmen, another great band. MX Lonely.