Conor Deasy: They are escapist songs. We were having a real shitty time at home. They are meant to take us away from where we were. We used to have all these friends in California. They used to have really beautiful girlfriends and beautiful apartments. They were all buff and pumped up. When we saw them next, they were in shambles. They were out of shape, their girlfriends had left them, and they had lost their apartments. California has a lot of potential for falling off the track.
Interviewer: All those dreams of California are an illusion?
Conor: If we spent a few weeks there, we might have come back with a postcard image. We spent more time there, so we came back with a more rounded version of California life.
From a 2006 interview with the Thrills:
Interviewer: What are your songs about really?
Conor Deasy: They are escapist songs. We were having a real shitty time at home. They are meant to take us away from where we were. We used to have all these friends in California. They used to have really beautiful girlfriends and beautiful apartments. They were all buff and pumped up. When we saw them next, they were in shambles. They were out of shape, their girlfriends had left them, and they had lost their apartments. California has a lot of potential for falling off the track.
Interviewer: All those dreams of California are an illusion?
Conor: If we spent a few weeks there, we might have come back with a postcard image. We spent more time there, so we came back with a more rounded version of California life.
Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20231123031728/https://portable-infinite.blogspot.com/2006/03/thrills.html