Sharp, wry and really pounding, Package Pt. 2 is the second studio set from Brooklyn no-wave / post-punks, Gustaf.
Commanded by frontperson Lydia Gammill, Gustaf trade in driving and angular songs, with pulsating basslines and clicking drums. The album was produced with Erin Tonkon (who worked on David Bowie's Blackstar) and although it fizzles with high fidelity sonic angst, there is plenty of rawness that keeps Package Pt. 2 sounding like it was just as much recorded right off the stage at some rock and roll dive.
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The NYC lineage and influences are relatively clear, with a wide-eyed snap that recalls early Parquet Courts and a nonchalance to the delivery that is somewhere between LCD Soundsystem and the iconic ESG. Although Gustaf are steeped in the city's vibrance, they never sail too close to emulation, instead creating a really evocative pull whether doing it fast or slow. Package Pt. 2 very much picks up where the bands bristling 2021 debut LP - Drag for Ego Slobs - left off, but where that debut was swimming in neurosis, Package Pt. 2 is confident and full of forceful intensity.
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In these salad days for post-punk and Sprechgesang, it is exciting to find a young band who are harnessing the credulous optimism of guitar music and finding plenty of their own vivid space in what has become very well-trodden sounds. They pulsate, they rant and they thrill. A great record.
Package Pt. 2 is the fourth release of 2024 for those of you signed up to the Drift Record of the Month Club.
Available in three, six or twelve month configurations, you can join the Drift Record of the Month Club and start adding to your amazing collection. Each month you will receive one new album on either vinyl or CD, based on your subscription type. The first delivery (whether CD or LP) will also include a complimentary Drift Pin.
Find out more here.
Recent 'Record of the Month' albums at Drift have included; Adrianne Lenker, William Doyle, Bill Ryder-Jones, Harp, Hotline TNT, Black Pumas, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Georgia, Cory Hanson, Overmono, North Americans, H. Hawkline, Yo La Tengo, The Murder Capital, Goat Girl, Black Country, New Road, Jane Weaver, Dry Cleaning, Squid, White Flowers, Stephen Fretwell, Chubby and the Gang, Low, BADBADNOTGOOD, Damon Albarn, Geese, Silverbacks, Cate Le Bon, Huerco S., Daniel Rossen, Kevin Morby, Vintage Crop, Viagra Boys, The Lounge Society, Jockstrap, Trevor Beales, Aoife Nessa Frances and Sarathy Korwar.