Synth / Psychedelic
RIYL: Peter Gabriel, Tame Impala, Rostam
By Anthony Saia
Ever wonder what the members of Tame Impala are up to when they are not touring or writing music for their band? Well, drummer, keyboard, and guitar player Jay Watson definitely keeps himself busy. Today on New Music Faster, we have a track from one of Watson’s side projects GUM. Entitled The Underdog this will be the fourth release under the GUM moniker.
The new record, due out on April 6th via Spinning Top, is an amalgamation of psychedelic electronic boogie tines that definitely carry some of the same sonic trappings as those we heard on Tame Impala’s record Currents from a couple years ago.
The title track, and featured song above “The Underdog” has a downtempo vibe, with a fat bassline. There is some killer synth and guitar leads on the track as well. This instrumentation, paired with the neo-psych production quality make for a spaced out trip of a song. What’s also great is how Watson is seemingly capable of using his sonic palette and evolving it ever so slightly to make his music skip from one genre to the next.
While the full album hasn’t dropped yet, we were also able to hear “S.I.A.” which seems as if it might serve as a single for the record. The beginning of the song has a very upbeat tempo that when paired with a driving bassline, will make you want to dance your keester off. If you like LCD Soundsystem, you will like this track.
Now, while we have to wait a whole day (gasp!) to hear the rest of the record, the singles that have come out lean toward this record being a great foray into new ways to bridge electronic and psychedelic music. Ultimately, this 10-track record might just end up on some of our year-end lists. There are so many layers here, that you’ll likely hear something new with each listen. Admittedly, I am not a Tame Impala fan, but I sure as heck like this.
