The last few decades of shoegaze have left us under the impression that reinvention is nearly impossible. Enter gumdrop; the Bristol-based alt-indie rock powerhouse, originally formed in Southampton, who know exactly how to create the most visceral friction through chilly avant-garde post-punk elements, fuzzy feral 90s riot grrrl energy and crushing, all-consuming, oceanically hazy distortion.
Their latest single, germinate, builds walls of sound beyond nostalgia’s easy cosplay, using contemporary angst and echoes of ingenuity in instrumentals that refuse inhibition. The guitars stargaze while still sounding ready to bite, the basslines carry an ice-cold charge of grooved volatility, and the industrial-leaning synth melodies give the track a strange metallic bloom. Underneath it all, the drums punch through with enough physical force to keep the haze from swallowing itself whole.
Fans of My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Sonic Youth and Bikini Kill should find plenty to lose themselves in here, but gumdrop’s appeal sits in the way they drag those reference points into catharsis in its rawest form. The band isn’t making music like they used to, and that is exactly the point.
If authenticity guaranteed success, there would be no accolade out of gumdrop’s grasp. As intrepid explorers of intersections that few bands have the vision to explore, they suck you straight into their catatonic orbit.
germinate is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify.
Review by Amelia Vandergast
