The weird and wonderful New York art-rock band Gustaf has released their sophomore album, Package Pt. 2, and it is just as eccentric and dramatic as it is addictive.
Front-woman Lydia Gammill’s unique, conversational vocal style has placed Gustaf squarely within the “speak-singing” renaissance that is currently unfolding in the indie rock scene. Though polarizing among critics, the style has been embraced by numerous popular acts such as Wet Leg, Cheekface, Dry Cleaning, and Yard Act; even Olivia Rodrigo has caught on. And yet, while Gustaf clearly draws from ‘80s post-punk influences like Talking Heads and the B-52s, as well as their aforementioned contemporaries, Package Pt. 2 shows off the group’s distinct identity as a bunch of Brooklyn oddballs with a range of talent and artistic vision all their own.
Thematically, much of the album deals with the human need to see and be seen by others. The opening track, ‘Statue‘, introduces this concept in clear, desperate terms:
“Statues—become me! / I’ll bend to your form / […] / You’re all I have to carry me on / To the center of the stage.”
Another thematic through-line is the discomfort that comes with visibility, especially in the context of love and desire. The album’s first single, ‘Starting and Staring‘, is just one track that explores what it means to want something you once had but no longer do:
“I’m starting to look me in the eyes / I’m starting to care that you’re not by my side.”
Gustaf is adept at using voices to add texture and energy to their music. Their 2021 debut album, Audio Drag for Ego Slobs, introduced an array of side characters, including a Greek chorus of gang vocals and a distorted, pitched-down version of Gammill’s voice that frequently echoes her words. Package Part 2 amps the “audio drag” up to a new level, with established characters taking on new lives of their own. As Gammill sings her bitter refrain in ‘I Won’, the deep voice screams with ecstasy over their apparent “victory”. It’s both humorous and deeply unsettling.
“You won! / I won?! / Oh, you’re having fun. / Agh! Agh! I won!“
The album dips into new sonic territory in ways that are exciting yet subtle enough to feel like natural expansions of Gustaf’s repertoire. ‘Here Hair / Hard Hair‘ is a two-part piece whose tempo rises and falls like the beating of a heart, while ‘Happiest Thought‘ (my personal favorite) is a buzzing foray into electronic dance-punk. Through it all, though, Package Part 2 crystallizes all the key elements that constitute the band’s sonic identity – Gammill’s expressive vocals, the punchy beats, the jumpy guitar riffs – and builds on them in new, exciting ways.
Despite the album’s emotionally complex themes, there is a pulsing joy that lives at the core of every track that any Gustaf track would feel incomplete without. This record, undoubtedly one of my favorites of 2024 so far, only makes me more excited for what Gustaf will do next.
