In the time since their last LP (2019’s The Talkies) Gilla Band changed their name. Formerly known as ‘Girl Band’, the group announced the change in a statement describing their previous name as naïve and ignorant. They expressed regret over using a name which was “misgendered”. This sensitivity and conscience have run through every song the group have put out so far. To any fans surprised (or, bafflingly, angered) by the move: you were getting something very different from them than the rest of us.
Any else fearing a toothless new era should also relax. Most Normal dials the noise up, and leans as far into chaos and heaviness as the band ever have. While The Talkies was a perfectly commendable second album, it lacked the danger and unhinged misanthropy of earlier work. Here the edge is back. Most Normal is suffused with a feeling that it could fall to pieces any second, and it’s exhilarating to hear the band find that again—years later, healthier, happier; surfing waves that broke on them as younger men. And what a wave they find. If grunge was the damaged younger brother of punk, Gilla Band are another sibling down the line; extreme, dysphonic, dysfunctional and strange.
There is a new intricacy to production. Where amplification used to do heavy lifting, it’s yielded to subtler and more bizzaro techniques to ruin the listener’s day. Standout ‘The Weirds’ ends with a section of high frequency whining that’s physically difficult to listen to. Songs regularly feature aggressive ducking and instruments are positioned like sardines in the mix. In the moment, these claustrophobia-inducing production no-nos sound convincingly naïve. The reality is that they’re used with precision and intentionality. Balanced on a knife’s edge, this album constructs the illusion of spontaneity, thoughtlessness; as though the inception of its ideas had been captured on tape. Behind that illusion is fastidious attention to detail.
And while Most Normal can lean on some previously established sounds and techniques, it’s far and away their most eclectic album in terms of style. A great example is ‘I Was Away’ which has a really unexpected Primus-y sound. 2020s bands sounding like Primus is a trend that’s bubbled up out of nowhere but seems to be working well for everyone—Gilla Band included. This album has one foot in the band’s past, one foot in their future; standing in a confident power stance over The Talkies and ready for more.
Andrew O’Keefe