Track by Track is a recurring feature series in which artists guide readers through every song on their latest release. Today, Gustaf take us into their new album, Package Pt. 2.
Gustaf return today with Package Pt. 2, the follow-up to their charged, fever dream 2021 debut Audio Drag for Ego Slobs. The New York City band previously shared Package Pt. 2 singles “Starting and Staring,” “Here Hair/Hard Hair,” and this week, “Close.” Now, the quintet, led by the wildly expressive vocalist Lydia Gammill, is blazing forward with their sophomore album.
Delightful, cunning, aggressive, passive, and a host of other adjectives could be used to describe the post-punk excellency of Package Pt. 2. It is intricate and complex, and at times contradictory with its moods — but Gustaf are consistent in their stylistic approach, and the album is stuffed with memorable, quality songs.
Though their sound can be reminiscent of contemporaries like Yard Act and BODEGA, Gustaf have a key difference in their lyrical themes (plus, how many can boast having a music video directed by Beck?). There’s a shift away from the frequent political and class commentaries from many similar bands currently occupying the post-punk genre, and an emphasis on the interpersonal, the emotional.
A great deal of current post-punk deals with the “other” — while there are certainly “others” present here, in the case of Package Pt. 2, heavy focus is given to a main character of sorts. They’re not a protagonist, nor are they an antagonist; they could be anti-heroes, or just normal people. This is nodded to by the band themselves: “while in the first album our troubled anti-hero found themself screaming at their surroundings… that defense mechanism reaches a breaking point and they are forced to turn inward.”
The new album spans the entire thought process of a psychological revolution for an “ego slob” (“someone who does a bad job of translating the outside world within the context of themself”), from the events leading to a breakdown, to the actual breakdown, and finally through coming out the other side of the breakdown with new revelations and realizations. It’s a mental journey in a thrilling post-punk package, uniquely surreal and enticing at each turn.
Even more visceral is catching a Gustaf show in person; is heading on the road this month in support of Package Pt. 2, and you can get tickets here. Listen to Gustaf’s Package Pt. 2 below, and read their Track by Track breakdown of the album, courtesy of the band’s Lydia Gammil.