Hex on Us! by Gut Model

For fans of A Minor Forest, Shellac, the second half of In Rainbows, glam rock, and the most anticlimactic possible end of the world, Hex on Us! by Gut Model provides a preview of post-apocalyptic pop music, a style constantly fighting its own dissonance to present a warm, comforting posture. Mathy in the least flashy way possible, these riffs present themselves as only a slight deviation from our expectations, oftentimes only feeling just deviant enough to trigger an uncanny valley response from deep within our subconscious. Likewise, challenging chord progressions weave in and out of a warm, cozy tone, releasing bursts of unexpected friction to interrupt any sense of security. Contradicting the gentle flow of such subtle darkness, Gut Model styles the rest of their sound, from the guitar tones to the vocal style to the song structures, around the supposed maintenance of some sort of pop decorum. The band plays like they’re on vintage tv while just barely concealing their existential panic, a frown hiding behind plastic smiles as the bread runs out and the circus dies down.