Next month, Chicago’s Ganser will release their third LP Animal Hospital (due out August 29th on felte). Produced by Liars’ Angus Angrew, the album has been previewed with two singles, “Black Sand” and “Discount Diamonds,” which have earned an enthusiastic critical response, earning praise from outlets like Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, FADER, Stereogum, Alternative Press, and BrooklynVegan.
Today, the band are sharing a third single from the LP, a track entitled “stripe,” along with a video created by band member Alicia Gaines.
Recorded at Jamdek Studios by Doug Malone (with additional recording by Nick Broste at Electrical Audio) and producer Andrew (Liars) between January and March of 2025, Animal Hospital is a masterwork of Ganser’s long-honed craft. Songs from the album began life as notes scratched as far back as 2020, though “stripe” dates back even further, having first been demoed in 2001), as Gaines explains.
This one dates back to October 2001, one of my earliest experiences recording with a computer after years of suffering through noisy cassette recorders and 4-track machines. It’s a testament to the durability of digital recording that much of the instrumentation that made it onto the album is from the original demo session. The lyrics and melody, added this year, describe everyone living in their own narrative– where what can be perceived as wrong or right can vary from individual to individual, and how in reality the truth is sometimes more of an evolving idea than a fixed concept, for better or worse. A compass points true until you follow it far enough to get lost.
The cover of Chicago post-punks Deeper‘s new album, Auto-Pain, features an image of Northwestern Prentice Women’s Hospital in Chicago – a hospital known for its modern architectural style…that was demolished in 2015. Healing, death, illness, impermanence, and presence are themes weaved throughout the album.
It opens with “Esoteric,” as guitarists Mike Clawson and Nic Gohl (who also sings lead) lead us by the hand with catchy hooks while Gohl asks “Is it any wonder I feel so old?” He’s bogged down by the pressure of living under constant demands from all angles. The song breaks into bright synths and power riffs that bring Wire records to mind. “Run” has some guitars just as bright and shiny as before, and other with a lingering sense of anger behind them.
“This Heat” could be a tribute to the band of the same name (and the sharp guitars certainly are reminiscent of This Heat), but I suspect the song is about the heat of emotions and trying to tame them. “I’m so sick” Gohl repeats again and again, as well as “You’re crossing the line.” He’s ready to burst with rage as his temperature rises. “It’s all right” is repeated often on “Willing,” and you’re not sure if Gohl is trying to convince us, his bandmates, himself, or all three groups. I love the way the guitars sound like warped records, and Shiraz Bhatti‘s beats (influenced by sounds heard as a kid at pow wows he attended with his family) on it are wicked.
“What’s the point of living this life?” Gohl sings on “Lake Song.” A repeated line in the chorus is “I just want you to feel sick.” The lyrics take on heavier weight when you learn that Clawson killed himself after leaving the band during Auto-Pain‘s recording. He had battled depression for a long time. The band was stunned, as you can imagine, and “Lake Song,” with its dark synths and krautrock beats, feels like Gohl, Bhatti, and bassist Drew McBride working out their grief in the track.
The synths burst forth with new light and the guitars throw fits with new fire in “Spray Paint.” On “4U” the synths and guitars almost become manic, probably reflecting the stress building on the band at the time. McBride’s admiration of Peter Hook is on full display on “V.M.C.” and “Helena’s Flowers” – two tracks that deal with obsession and attachment.
“The Knife” brings to mind early stuff from The Cure as Gohl sings about feeling best when one realizes most of life is nonsense. It can be a depressing thought, and Gohl has admitted that depression is the main theme of the album and the recording of it was a healing process for he, McBride, and Bhatti. The closer, “Warm,” has Gohl’s guitar sounding like it’s stumbling across a desert landscape in search of a cool place to rest. “Is this the cure you believe in, or just another cast line?” Gohl sings. The last line of the song and thus the album is “Inside I close the door.” Does he mean inside the safety of his home or inside the domain of his mind? I’m not sure if it matters either way. He has found a way to shut out the noise, and wouldn’t we all be better off if we could do that?
The title, Auto-Pain, is a reference to Brave New World and a substance that lets you feel everything at once. Could we deal with such a wave of emotion? Would we end up enlightened if we did, or crushed? Sometimes the reward is worth the risk.
Keep your mind open.
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