by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
Just in time for the next Bandcamp Day, May 7th, Eau Claire, Wisconsin’s Gash are set to release their latest album, Leftern. Following their debut album in 2018 and a split record back in 2019, the quartet return with a blast of distortion the just permeates everything in sight on their latest. While this record was engineered by Brian Jospeh (Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens), the is far from a calm and saccharine sound, but make no mistake it captures a wide range of sonic destruction. Gash like to play loud but with plenty of piercing dynamics, drawing influences from bands like Slint, Pavement, and Black Midi in the process.
The record’s lead single is “Life of Dan,” a song named after the band’s roommate, is a certified ripper. It’s heavy on the attack, heavy on the discordance, and has little guitar solos tucked in throughout. Dense and layered, it offers a wall of sound in the guitars and the primal crack of the rhythm. The song’s vocals are slightly buried under the distorted chaos, but they offer a nice melodic counterpoint, as the band eventually weave into a relative clarity before surging back into the eye of the storm with some very nice shreddy guitars that swarm the song’s finale. It’s not real clear if they like this Dan fella, but I like to think they do.