Described variously as no wave, post punk, art rock, or some combination of all three with perhaps a bonnus genre or two thrown in for good measure, Brooklyn band Gustaf have released a video for 'Starting and Staring', a frenzied propulsive number that provides the first inkling of their second album, Package Pt. 2, which arrives off the back of their well received Audio Drag For Ego Slobs (2021).
The hook — well, less of a hook more of an imperative mantra — "Stay on my eyes" is by turns growled and uttered through bared teeth by singer Lydia Gammill. It weaves through, appearing with her increasingly agitated "You got me starting and staring!" in the midst of the juddering sweaty low-ceilinged dancefloor sound vehicle powered by zingy guitar harmonics, slapdash yet precision riffs and solid, driving bass. A cross between a streetfight and euphoric dance-off.
Channeling a vocal delirium that recalls Patti Smith's rollicking refrains, but with added slurring ferocity, Gammill's voice cartwheels, swoops and bodyslams itself, sometimes punching the air with group vocals a la fellow NYC-ers The Rapture. Truthfully, there's a lot in here that summons that sound, that essence of 21st-century danceable disco-meets-rock, and its key components, LCD Soundsystem and !!! (West Coast, but still) included, and it speaks to the cultural weight propelling Gustaf forward to inherit the house parties and basement clubs of tomorrow.
- 🔔 This slice of new music, 'Starting and Starting' in case you didn't get that, is from the second Gustaf album, Package Pt. 2, which will be released on 5th April this year (that's 2024) via Toronto-based label Royal Mountain Records.
- 🔔 Gustaf tour dates can be found by clicking this very text (they're going on tour in April/May around the U.S.).
- 🔔 The rather indie-filmic video for Gustaf's 'Starting and Staring' was directed by filmmaker Alex Ross Perry.
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