The Chicago music scene is currently teeming with so much talent its hard to keep track but post-punk four piece Ganser are a definite highlight. Earlier this year the band released their debut LP Odd Talk via No Trend Records which received critical acclaim from Billboard, Stereogum, Post-Trash and more. Its stark balance of incorporating traditional post-punk grooves, pop harmonies, shoegaze and everything in between has made them a standout. They don’t lean on the usual tropes which come along with the genre, taking their influences to heart but creating a sound uniquely their own.

Their latest single “Pastel” is a break beat dance track set to the backdrop of our social anxiety, a void we’re screaming out to, hoping one day someone will listen. As we scroll through social platforms we’re shown false images of a world we idealize but can never achieve, followed by a sense of dread and jealousy. Its a gross modern version of idol worship, cultivating our own image and curating ourselves to complete strangers.

Alicia Gaines (vox, bass) and Nadia Garofalo’s (vox, keys) vocals swing in tandem among antsy but precise angular guitar by Charlie Landsman with crunching drums by Brian Cundiff. “Look how I’ve suffered, like no one before//my blood’s thicker, redder than yours”, boasts Garofalo as an uptempo beat fills your ears, a true ego anthem. However this turns to Gaines who pulls you back to reality, “Trouble wants to be seen // Hungry to show anyone anything at all”.  As Landsman’s guitar flys off the rails and the track slows, Gaines pleads, “You’re not looking // I’m not nothing”.  Its the perfect track to show the underlying battle rumbling beneath the surface of your identity.

Take a listen below…

LIVE DATES

10/30/18 – Halloween Bash @ Lincoln Hall

11/17/18 – w. Daughters @ Beat Kitchen (SOLD OUT)

11/18/18 – w. Daughters @ Beat Kitchen (SOLD OUT)