New York five-piece Gustaf have carved out a niche for themselves as peddlers of cheeky art-rock and raucous post-punk performers. Their music as well as their lyrics is fiercely kinetic, propelled by playful absurdities and profound introspections alike. After supporting fellow jocular rockers Yard Act on their tour abroad, they’re back in the U.S. this month and next for a headlining tour that includes a stop at Zebulon in Los Angeles on Tuesday, May 7th.
The impromptu circumstances under which Gustaf was formed in 2018 are emblematic of the band’s candid spontaneity. After plans to ferry their band Ex-Girlfriends to SXSW fell through, Tarra Thiessen (vocals/percussion) and Tine Hill (bass) filled their van with a rag-tag group of fellow musicians and friends to experiment with the start of a new project. The pair enlisted Lydia Gammill (vocals) to aid them on the drive, provided she could perform some recently demoed songs, bringing along past collaborator Vram Kherlopian (guitar) for the ride.
All of this transpired before the band had even decided on a name — let alone the type of music they’d be doling out at their first concerts together. Back in New York, they completed their lineup with the addition of Melissa Lucciola (drums). The quintet dove headfirst into their hometown’s club circuit, pairing their punchy, off-kilter sonics with doses of sharp wit and feral eccentricity. Since then, they’ve proven their live potency alongside several bands that share their ethos, including Dehd and IDLES.
Their first album Audio Drag for Ego Slobs — apart from earning them the praise of Beck — debuted their erratic but exhilerating sound. Between the frantic call-and-response vocals of Thiessen and Gammill comes the caterwaul of Kherlopian’s guitar, a strike of lightning against the tumult of Lucciola’s jittery drumming and Hill’s spongey bass. The result was irresistible groove-benders like “Liquid Frown” and “Happy,” where woodwinds and keys lend a suave dreaminess to their elastic rhythms, and the staccato slipperiness of “Cruel” or “Dog.”
The title of the LP references a technique that’s become one of their many celebrated idiosyncracies: pushing her vocals through an effects pedal to lend them a deep distortion, Thiessen participates in what Laurie Anderson coined as “audio drag.” In some songs, it lends a level of irreverent irony to their gender-twisting lyricism, for others like “Package” it induces a danceable mania.
For their sophomore record Package, Pt. 2 they turn inward with the snap of the neck, examining eviscerating and crushing questions but still bobbing along to their live-wire dips and hooks. Its various tracks unfold as feverish introspections — “Statues” agonizes over a relationship with the stage, “What Does It Mean” spins dizzily through toxic cycles, “End Of The Year” meanders sullenly toward a daunting future — delivering another collection of hypnotic and startlingly thoughtful jams.
Yet no matter how invigorating you think their sound might be when absorbed through a speaker or earbud, you can bet it’s thousands of times more potent live. Take a peak at their upcoming list of live shows below and catch this devilishly good outfit gleefully tearing it up in their element!
Words: Steven Ward
See Gustaf at Zebulon in Los Angeles on Tuesday, May 7th.
Visit Gustaf on their website and Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements.
Listen to Package, Pt. 2 the new album from Gustaf below!
Gustaf Headlining Tour
4/26 Detroit, MI – PJ’s Lager House
4/27 Chicago, IL – The Empty Bottle
4/28 Minneapolis, MN – 7th St Entry
5/1 Spokane, WA – District Bar
5/2 Vancouver, BC – Fox Cabaret
5/3 Portland, OR – Polaris Hall
5/4 Seattle, WA – Belltown Bloom
5/6 San Francisco, CA – Cafe Du Nord
5/7 Los Angeles, CA – Zebulon
5/10-5/12 Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Block Party
5/11 Denver, CO – Lost Lake Lounge
5/13 Austin, TX – Mohawk
5/14 Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall (Upstairs)
5/15 Dallas, TX – Club Dada
5/17 Nashville, TN – Drkmttr
5/18 Atlanta, GA – The Earl
5/19 Raleigh, NC – Kings
5/20 Washington, D.C. – Songbyrd Record Cafe
5/22 Philadelphia, PA – Ukie Club
5/23 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
