Album Review: Gum Country Is Taking You Somewhere

Gum Country’s Somewhere is 90’s lo-fi, grunge glamor. It is like watching Cher, from Clueless, go to a Hole concert and proceed to rave and lose her mind. Its chords are deliciously deranged like, noised beauty. Absolutely every song grits and rips into sound-waves until you realize they are as shreddable as sheets.
Gum Country – ‘Somewhere’ (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)

Gum Country are duo  Courtney Garvin, Halle, Saxon, and Connor Mayer, and I know when the concert scene returns, they will play packed shows. Why? Because they feel fashionably punk. You want to put on your pumps and mosh to their music, which is such a rare gem of a feeling. Their ability to make every song feel succinct, palatable, while also crazy and chaotic is truly a gift. The key lies in Courtney’s lax voice. She sounds like a woman watching the Apocalypse and deciding to light a cig and pick up her Canon camera for some good shots. Her voice is steady and calm amidst the wildness of Mayer’s arrangements, which allows Somewhere to have a certain catharsis to it.
Gum Country – ‘Talking To My Plants’

On one hand, I want to chill and hear Courtney sing, and, on the other, I want to bash a guitar and jump on my bed every time the drum rolls and the guitar riffs. Their melodies leave skid marks from how fast and hard they go, while still feeling mellowed. In a way, it is reflective of their theme: emotional crisis. At times, we can feel so over-loaded by the world, emotionally and socially, that it makes us oddly serene. It is like receiving so much bad news and stress that you decide, “F**k IT! I’m going on vacation.” Sometimes, feelings are so big that it is okay to walk away from them, at least, to process them, and Gum Country’s Somewhere feels like a music, emotional processor. Gum Country’s Somewhere Comes Out June 19.