This is the first full-length album by female punk band Gustaf. Full of texture and many layers, this album definitely took me by surprise in a good way. Lead singer Lydia Gammill shows off her incredible range all throughout this album and amazes you on every track. They sound like a band that you would stumble across walking by a venue and instantly fall in love with. Punk isn’t usually my scene, but they may just be the band to turn that around.
The album opens with “Mine,” their first single ever released, and my personal favorite on the album. It has a Talking Heads feel to it, Gammill’s cadence being very similar to that of David Byrne. It comes in with all the usual suspects of punk music – heavy guitar riffs, intense percussion, and of course an envious bass line. These themes follow all throughout the album, making it incredibly dynamic and detailed. “Best Behavior,” and “The Motions” follow a more “talk-heavy” format, including call-and-response lines and more of a point being made by the lyrics. “Best Behavior” follows an egotistical character who is slowly realizing that the way they live their life is not conducive to real-world dynamics and relationships. “The Motions” reminds me of “Another Brick in the Wall” in that it mocks the way people teach children to be mindless robots who only do what they’re told and are seen and not heard. The political and social commentary on this album is to be expected, given that those are essentially the heart of punk music and have been since its inception. The track “Cruel” tells the story of the narrator finding romance but battling with it internally and going back and forth on how they feel about their love interest – wanting to tuck them in at night but also viewing them as cruel for not giving them the chance to do so. The album closes out with “Happy,” a more melodic ode to the audience listening to the album. It serves as a sendoff, the artists saying they hope we were happy with the music they gave us and that there was something we could relate to or let go of through the experience of the album. It’s a beautiful close and acknowledges the audience’s part in all of this.
If you’re looking for an introduction to the punk world, I would say this album is the way to go. It doesn’t immediately throw you into the deep end and deter you from the genre, but rather gradually pulls you in. I’m always looking for more female-led (and all female) bands to listen to and if you’re the same, I highly recommend giving Gustaf a listen, you won’t be disappointed.
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