At a certain point, it becomes imperative to embrace the eccentricities of your character. “If you’re feeling strange/You should probably just stick with it,” frontwoman Kassie Carlson sings on single “CEO of Personal & Pleasures.” No longer are New York-based Guerilla Toss on the outside looking in. With their newest record You’re Weird Now, the glass is broken. There is no barrier that separates the “normal” from the abstract. Nothing to shield those unsettled by experimentation, because like the title suggests, everyone is weird. Now it’s just a matter of acceptance.
Just look at their music video for “Life’s a Zoo.” It’s clear that Guerilla Toss aren’t concerned with maintaining a cool and nonchalant persona. Instead, they embrace their weirdness. “It’s kind of like your own personal definition of weird,” says frontwoman Kassie Carlson in an interview. In an era where social media entices even the most mundane of individuals to cultivate a digital persona, Guerilla Toss are the only ones willing to explore a weirdness not yet accepted by the mainstream.
It’s no surprise that Guerilla Toss would present this as the core ethos of You’re Weird Now. With Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus at the helm, the band streamline their dance-punk and no wave inspired roots into a cohesive abstract painting. Here, the band moves with an unpredictable fluidity while retaining its unabashed chaotic roots. Opener “Krystal Ball” introduces us into their newfound creative landscape. Shimmering synths pulsate until the track breaks into a sinister guitar riff.
On “Panglossian Mannequin,” a disco dance beat carries a grooving bass as Carlson whispers about being a hopelessly optimistic statue. “I cultivate my garden/Play victim to the want, the lust,” she sings as the track follows a similar erratic nature. Or take the frenetic “Psychosis Is Just a Number.” Guerilla Toss put themselves on full display, channeling the raw punk energy of James Chance with the quirk of Jeff Rosenstock.
Despite maintaining the feral energy of their previous records, You’re Weird Now knows when to pull back. Remove the sporadic synths and jagged guitar lines and you get Neo-Psychadelic pop punk. “Red Flag to Angry Bull” may be one of the album’s calmer tracks. Reverberated guitars paint a wash of color, with Carlson’s bratty vocals giving the track a rebellious funk. Even a track like “Deep Sight,” as loud and catchy as it is, manages to exemplify Guerilla Toss’ newfound songwriting. You can almost see the smile coming from the band as the chorus explodes through its initial nonchalant nature.
It’s through this playful and confident tone that Guerilla Toss are able to present themselves without any underlying pretentiousness. On the closing track “Favorite Sun,” there is a moment that perfectly surmises the album. Amidst wavering synths, blinking electronics, and digitally processed guitars, Carlson lays it clear: “You live inside yourself, no one’s watching/Why not take part in this madness of sunlight?” While the track doesn’t grant you space to think about it, it’s the last thing you hear before it repeats the chorus into the sunset. Because really, why live inside your own head when there are memories to be made if you let go of your own perception? Guerilla Toss, throughout their decade-long career, have finally let themselves go, attaining a freedom that is new and limitless.
You’re Weird Now is out via Sub Pop Records.
