Amongst the steady flow of contemporary post-punk, Chicago’s Ganser register a few cuts above the average. As evidenced on their new full-length, they offer coherent yet multidimensional muscularity that’s rooted in but not beholden to the tradition informing their work. The playing is dynamic, the shared vocals are complimentary and engaging, and the whole thing seems likely to go down a storm from the bandstand. Odd Talk is out April 20 on milky clear or black vinyl, cassette, and digital through No Trend Records.
Ganser is Alicia Gaines on bass and vocals, Nadia Garofalo on keyboards and vocals, Charlie Landsman on guitar, and Brian Cundiff on drums. Unlike numerous outfits who jampack their bios with loads of portraiture (and hey, there’s nothing wrong with that), Ganser seems to prefer letting their music do the talking, a tendency that jives interestingly with the disc’s stated theme of “communication breakdown.”
The band aren’t mysterious, however; along with clarity over who plays which instrument, it’s not exactly a secret that Ganser came together in 2014 and the following year announced their presence with a sturdy digital single. In 2016 the 3-song “Audrey” cassette EP maintained the quality as it underscored post-punk toughness that’s rightly considered goth-edged but without leaving the lingering impression of being covered in cobwebs or half-whacked on belladonna.
A second digital single emerged shortly thereafter, its A-side “Pyrrhic Victory” continuing down the dark post-punk avenue as the flip “Sunk” dove into noisier territory that, largely through beaucoup guitar racket, affirmed the positive influence of No Wave and Sonic Youth; thus far, it stands as the gem of their discography.
It had some stiff competition from the overall heft of the “This Feels Like Living” tape, its 5-song US version of 150 copies opening with “Pyrrhic Victory” (the European edition, totaling 100, smartly added “Sunk” to the end as a bonus track). Both are sold out, though the music, including the full-bodied rocking of “Machine Man” and the infectious sting of the dance-punky “Candor,” lives on digitally and provides solid portraiture as preface to their first full album.
Odd Talk begins with “Comet,” and fitting for the record’s theme, starts out with a sound mimicking (possibly even sampling) an old landline dial tone. Weighty bass, crisp drumming, and flailing/ hovering guitar sets the instrumental framework, but the most striking element is the spoken vocals, which on one hand bring Kim Gordon to mind (specifically “The Sprawl”) but on the other are distinctly different both in distanced cadence and in placement in the mix. The result of being heard through a speaker of a telephone might be obvious, but it’s no less effective for that.
It sets into motion an ambitious collection of songs, but “Satsuma” makes clear that the group’s musical punch, if perhaps slightly tempered, hasn’t lost its effectiveness in the exploration of an idea; here, they wed Gang of Four’s thrust to Sonic Youth-like guitar figures as the vocals continue to derive from a gothy place, this last component a fitting way to relate disaffection and isolation.
The song’s opening line “what a time to be alive” is shared with the new track/ album from Superchunk, but where the Chapel Hill band employ the phrase in anger/ disgust at the shitty state of contemporary political affairs, Ganser wield it in examination of personal alienation in a sea of humanity (the chorus lyric: “Million and a half people”) and the difficulties of hyper-connectivity (“The secret to modern life Is to be good with your words”).
“PSY OPS” is a punky mover with more than a hint of Typical Girls/ Riot Grrl energy that’s shrewdly bookended with unintelligible vocal samples, and “Avoidance” extends matters nicely, the presence of keyboards asserted without weakening the strength of the attack as exemplified by the alternating choppiness and glide of “YES NO.”
Initially exuding an atmosphere of jazzy disillusionment, “Marsh”’s noisy crescendo kicks matters back into post-punk gear, the template further established through the assured blending of vocal anguish, pop-tinged keyboards, and shifting guitar textures (glistening, prickling, roaring, buckling) that shapes up “Aubergene.”
The succinct instrumental “(Miscommunication)” foregrounds Garofalo’s contribution, the whole reminiscent of the electronic soundscapes found on the outskirts of post-punk’s early history. It leads into the opening keyboard motif of “Revel,” though for the most part this agreeable facet gets intertwined with up-tempo rock movement as the singing locates the most pop-friendly zone on the record; additional spoken counterpoint serves as a unifier.
“Touch Insensitive” also contrasts tangible vocal friendliness with moments of conversational unease as the bursts of guitar radiate the curveball of shoegaze ambiance. It lends a strong closer to Odd Talk, an LP that if not holding any individual moments as massive as the aforementioned “Sunk,” does cohere into a powerful statement finding Ganser on the precipice of great things.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
B+
