Even if it weren’t for the Garage Band recordings, I can still vividly remember what my first high school band sounded like. I’ll save you the gory details, but it was fine at best. It can be hard to strike cross-generational gold in high school (we certainly didn’t), but occasionally some musicians are able to find each other at a young age and just mesh in a way that’s lasting. Such is the case for once-Chicago, now-Denver based duo, Gauntlet Hair. Andy Rauworth and Craig Nice have been playing together since high school and are set to release only their sophomore album as Gauntlet Hair, Stills, July 16 on Dead Oceans Records. This is actually a reunion, rather than a continuation, for the two and we can aptly thank them for going forward with their work together.
Stills might not be the most focused album. Correction: Stills might not be a focused album at all. Throughout the record, it’s a frequent challenge to determine when and where songs end bar the occasionally kind pause between tracks. In Stills, however, Gauntlet Hair reminds us that focus is certainly not a requirement for quality. Stills is a capricious exploration of the intimate and comfortable musical relationship between two high school buddies.
This album is epitomized it the track “G.I.D.” While you should by no means bypass any of the other songs of the record, the personality of “G.I.D.” can speak for all of Stills. It begins with heavy rhythmic that’s driven by a subtly catchy vocal line but mid-track melts into an almost slow-motion psychedelic drone. It represents in full the multiplicities that Gauntlet Hair brings to the table in Stills.
Place this track, for instance, against album opener “Human Nature.” The first track of the album, as an opener is meant to do, truly hooks you in to the album, but remains somewhat constant throughout. It serves its due purpose with wild success, but only scratches the surface of what the album is going to offer. Point to it, Stills is versatile and fun to listen to. It’s universally unexpected but unpretentiously so. It never deviates from being straight-up loud and delivers song after song of beats to move to. It really just makes me envious of Rauworth and Nice who were perhaps able to find their musical soul mates so young and have the time to hone their sound together.
Stills will be available July 16 on Dead Oceans. In the meantime, you can listen to the ghosts of Gauntlet Hair past on the band’s official website. We also have a preview of “Keep Time” on Best New Bands
