Gustaf may not be a band you’ve heard of yet, but I think that’s about to change. The 5-piece art rock/post-punk outfit hails from New York City and were formed in 2018. They’ve built a reputation around NYC as a hard working, fun band that has gotten the attention of Beck, James Chance, and have shared the stage with bands like Omni, Tropical Fuck Storm, Dehd, and Bodega.
But if you go searching online you’re not going to find much. The band has kept a pretty low profile on the interwebs and have released no recorded music, until today. Gustaf announced they have signed with Royal Mountain Records((US Girls, METZ, Mac DeMarco, Wild Pink) and have dropped their debut single “Mine” for your listening pleasure.
Lead singer Lydia Gammill sounds like a punk rock Courtney Barnett fronting Gang of Four. “Mine” is a skeletal, jagged single that hints at many influences and inspirations, yet has its own, singular post-punk vibe. It’s a little over 2 minutes of angst-y self-dissection and biting inner dialogue done over angular riffage that Mark E. Smith would have gladly grumbled over.
Here’s more about the track from vocalist Lydia Gammill:
This song is about having a false sense of entitlement. Someone who feels attacked or like they’re being pushed out of their own world and not getting the credit they deserve. Someone with a delusional sense of self whose anger and frustration is humorous like the superintendent in a college frat movie. The opening lines make it seem like the narrator is being criticizing by someone else and they’re retaliation is like “you’ve got to be kidding me, you can’t say that about me! I invented water you punk!” …. sort of.
Watch the video for “Mine” below. Keep up with the band and news about their first release being produced by Chris Coady(Beach House, Future Islands, TV On The Radio) over at Royal Mountain Records. Preorder the “Mine” 7 inch(being released 12/4) here.
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