Gum Country – Somewhere

There was a period, a decade or more ago, when fuzzy garage rock looked like it was going to take on the world....
Gum Country : Somewhere
7.6 Burger
2020 

Gum Country : SomewhereThere was a period, a decade or more ago, when fuzzy garage rock looked like it was going to take on the world – and then EDM became big instead.  Most of the garage rockers of then have put away their nighttime sunglasses and gotten real jobs, but the sound has not gone away.  Courtney Gavin of The Courtneys has teamed up with Connor Mayer as Gum Country for their self-described “harsh twee,” Somewhere.

Indie-rock fuzz permeates this record, from the relax of the titular opener to the falling water of closer “Waterfall”.  Gavin doesn’t hide behind the fuzz, coming out on such pieces as the charming & conversational “Tennis” and the upbeat fun “I Don’t Stay Up”, and synths are thrown in like with the cheery “Talking To My Plants” and monotone procession “There’s a Crumb”.  But this is an album that harkens back to that not-that-long-ago (though any time in the past feels like ‘the before time’ these days) of college kids listening to their Velvet Underground mp3s.

And it’s a sweet time that didn’t outstay its welcome, or repeat itself like so many sonic waves.  So, sit back and enjoy the fuzzy sound of Gum Country Somewhere, anywhere.

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