Photo by Felipe Torres
For a few years now Gustaf has been known around the New York scene as one of the “hardest working bands” (a title granted by Oh My Rockness who tallied how many times a band played New York in a given year), but until recently, unless you caught them at a gig there was no way of listening to their music. Taken away from their confrontational and chaotic live show during lockdown, the band was able to hone in on their recordings and put together their debut album, Audio Drag for Ego Slobs out October 1st via Royal Mountain Records.
Their latest offering from the album is the battling “Best Behavior”. Vocalist Lydia Gammill embodies a narrator whom they refer to as the Ego Slob who is at war with themself — trying to prove through countless repetition that if they believe they are deserving and worthy enough, they can be, even if they haven’t committed any deserving or worthy actions. The video showcases Gammill, wild-eyed as she pulsates and shakes with a bubbling intensity through several different tests in a sci-fi laboratory setting. Every proclamation of how “good” they are is presented as if it were a challenge to the listener until we see the conviction in her eyes slowly turn to desperation.
On the song, Gammill shared, “The song’s ethos is a bit of the old and the new attitude for Gustaf. Our narrator, the ‘ego slob’, is bargaining with itself, scrounging for self compassion and self assurance despite a pile of hurt feelings in its wake. In demanding spoils despite having done nothing to earn them, we see the initial cracks in a brutish facade— our antihero slowly realizing maybe the shell they built for themselves was not built for the world.”
For being such a live-centric act, “Best Behavior” came about more unexpectedly for the group as well. “Best Behavior” was fun to record because it was one of the first songs we finished/crafted in the studio rather than onstage. It started out as a demo we had in the early days of the band but never ended up playing live. It sat forgotten until we began planning the record and came together pretty effortlessly in the studio.” Gammill continues, “Unlike the bulk of the album that we developed over the course of many live shows, it was exciting to be making decisions and constructing the final song as it was happening. It also helped us get our footing and identify how we wanted to steer and produce the remaining recordings.”
The band will be joining IDLES, Pillow Queens, Kills Birds, and Osees on tour this upcoming fall. To keep up with the band and when you can catch them live, follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
