Just Look At That Sky

by Ganser

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EMD Very Good Album Review Haiku: Just Look At That Sky by Ganser

The best band to play

the scene of a crime, or an

intense accident!

(Note: I was, in fact, almost hit head on by a CPD van on my bike while listening to this record on my clip speaker. Now, listening more to these lyrics, I have realized it is actually the perfect music for catastrophic events or anything that feels dangerous.)

for more haiku reviews:

comeawaywithemd.com/very-good-haiku-a-2021-music-writing-experiment Favorite track: Projector.

Andrew Waterloo If you're nostalgic about funky 80's female lead punk rock. This is that and more. Favorite track: Bad Form.

Not Pro Chris can't get enough of the beat in Bags For Life. Really looking forward to the rest of the album. Favorite track: Bags For Life.

Harry Haller just great...from first to last. Favorite track: Bags For Life.

Ahsikor Because Ganser melts my brain! Favorite track: Emergency Equipment and Exits.

Erik Pitcock my favorite band. they are just, the best.

more...

	/

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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
1 x 12" standard weight "Solar Swirl" color vinyl protected in a white paper dust sleeve inserted into a 2-panel jacket & an 11" x 11" color print is also included.

This is the 3rd color pressing @ 500 Units

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Includes unlimited streaming of Just Look At That Sky via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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edition of 500

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Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Single disc inserted into a jewel case with a 6-panel booklet.

Includes unlimited streaming of Just Look At That Sky via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 14 days

edition of 500 14 remaining

Purchasable with gift card

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T-Shirt/Apparel
This just in.
Gildan 5000 shirt with chest print on front, full back print in white and blue.
How does it go? How far does it go? Zoom to page 15 to find out!

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Button/Pin/Patch
Enamel pin with "G" inlay. Silver metal, approximately 3/4" in diameter.
Will ship Spring 2021.
$1 from each pin will go towards The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

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edition of 100 6 remaining

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Climate Black T-Shirt + "Golden Ticket" Vinyl Bundle
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Turquoise ink on black Gilden T-shirt designed by Ganser & includes the limited edition vinyl version of 'Just Look At That Sky'

Includes unlimited streaming of Just Look At That Sky via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Sold Out
Climate Blue T-Shirt + "Golden Ticket" Vinyl Bundle
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
White ink on a blue Gilden T-shirt designed by Ganser & includes the limited edition vinyl version of 'Just Look At That Sky'

Includes unlimited streaming of Just Look At That Sky via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Sold Out
Limited Edition "Golden Ticket" Yellow Vinyl
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
1 x 12" standard weight "Golden Ticket" Yellow color vinyl protected in a white paper dust sleeve inserted into a 2-panel jacket & an 11" x 11" color print is also included.

**WE WILL NOT BE REPRESSING THIS COLOR AGAIN**

Includes unlimited streaming of Just Look At That Sky via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Sold Out
"Climate" Black T-Shirt + "Sky Blue Splatter" Vinyl Bundle
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Turquoise ink on black Gilden T-shirt designed by Ganser & includes the limited edition "Sky Blue Splatter" vinyl version of 'Just Look At That Sky' which is the 2nd pressing of this album at 300 units.

** THIS COLOR OF VINYL WILL NOT BE REPRESSED **

Includes unlimited streaming of Just Look At That Sky via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Sold Out
"Climate" Blue T-Shirt + "Sky Blue Splatter" Vinyl Bundle
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
White ink on a blue Gilden T-shirt designed by Ganser & includes the limited edition vinyl version of 'Just Look At That Sky'

** THIS COLOR OF VINYL WILL NOT BE REPRESSED **

Includes unlimited streaming of Just Look At That Sky via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Sold Out
Limited Edition "Sky Blue Splatter" Vinyl
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
1 x 12" standard weight "Sky Blue Splatter" color vinyl protected in a white paper dust sleeve inserted into a 2-panel jacket & an 11" x 11" color print is also included.

2nd color pressing @ 300 Units

**WE WILL NOT BE REPRESSING THIS COLOR AGAIN**

Includes unlimited streaming of Just Look At That Sky via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Sold Out

1.	Lucky 03:44 video	lyrics	buy track
(VOX Nadia) Thought you’d be more Thought you’d be OK Hell of a day, kid Hell. of. a. day. Well drink up sonny Drink it all up Drink up sonny You should be so lucky How does it go? How far does it go? Don’t whine at me Just take what you can carry Don’t look that way You thought you’d be more than this Thought you’d be OK Hell of a day, kid Hell. of. a. day So drink up sonny Drink it all up Drink up sonny Drink up sonny How could we know? How could we ever know? Hardly seems worth it When the light goes But just look at that sky Just look at that sky I’ll close my own eyes completely I’ll close my own eyes completely Completely Thought you’d be more Thought you’d be OK Thought you’d be more Thought you’d be OK Hell of a day kid Hell of a day Drink up sonny Drink it all up Drink up sonny Drink up sonny Drink up sonny You should be so lucky
2.	Self Service 03:40	lyrics	buy track
(VOX Nadia) Back to the start The line isn’t drawn Flags have folded And they’ve all moved on They’ve all moved on Tell it straight Draw me the way I’ve got nothing to place At end of day It’s so crowded There’s too many to breathe Air sucked from the room But we can’t stand to leave It was never gonna be It was never gonna be Tell me a story An anecdote to cure The terminal lonely Blue boys Lost words It’s so crowded There’s too many to breathe Air sucked from the room But I can’t stand to leave But they’ll never see They’ll never see I’ll never see
3.	Projector 03:02	lyrics	buy track
(VOX Nadia) Oh it's such a rush Big bright collisions But don’t you worry no Don’t you worry It’s so profound How nothing matters Let’s talk about Nebulous weather A climate of catastrophes That’ll never get better The steady pace The words come out A procession So much Too many It's so profound Oh yeah no nothing matters Let's recite our theories And how we’d known so much better So much spark A solar happening A light no one asked for Your recall recognition Oh it's so different Big bright collisions But don’t you worry no Don’t you
4.	Emergency Equipment and Exits 05:28 video	lyrics	buy track
(VOX Alicia) Everyone is glad you're here They're throwing A party for you Third time this year Everything is beautiful And nothing hurts I only want it forever Swallowing negative space Like DB Cooper falling Until I too am nothing And it all seemed so big So real So real So real Surreal Surreal It’s a long way down It’s a long way down It’s a long way down It’s a long way down It’s a long way down It’s a long way down It’s a long way down It’s a long way down I don’t want to be here I don’t want to–
5.	Told You So 04:44	lyrics	buy track
(Vox Nadia & Alicia) Don't tell me nothing I’ve become a certain something Don’t tell me I’m certainly something Just everything I’m certainly not Keep it in you Keep it from me Keep it in you My insides are out to get me Inside out I feel like I have eleven eyes With nothing to see Keep it in you Keep it from me Take it in you Take it from me I’ll wake up tomorrow I’ll wake up all right I’ll wake up tomorrow I’ll wake up all right I’ll wake up tomorrow I’ll wake up all right I’ll wake up tomorrow I’ll wake up all right I’ll wake up tomorrow I’ll wake up all right Go get it going Go carrying on Onwards and upwards Almost gone It’s nothing like dying nothing like me Keep it in you Keep it from me Keep it in you Take it from me I’ll wake up tomorrow I’ll wake up all right I’ll wake up tomorrow I’ll wake up all right I’ll wake up tomorrow I’ll wake up all right I told you don’t tell me I’ll be all right I’ll wake up tomorrow I’ll wake up all right I’ll wake up tomorrow I’ll be all right I’ll be all right I’ll wake up tomorrow I’ll be all right I’ll wake up tomorrow I’ll wake up all right I’ll wake up tomorrow I’ll wake up all right I’ll wake up tomorrow All right
6.	Shadowcasting 03:41	lyrics	buy track
(VOX Alicia) The more you look at it The worse it gets Shrink into shapes Minimize to mitigate Magical thinking Want what you can’t have Have what you don’t want Want what you can’t have Have what you don’t want Smooth the edges Safe and sound Paper the windows And lock the doors Want what you can’t have Have what you don’t want Lost and never found Lost and never found Lost and never found Lost and never found Lost and never found Lost and never found Lost and never found Never found Never found
7.	Bad Form 03:33 video	lyrics	buy track
(Vox Nadia & Alicia) No yeah I'm fine I've just been looking at the ceiling And I can’t feel my limbs But my stomach is turning I know, I know I know, I know Too many people Want too much attention Sick at the sight of me I’m sick at the sight of me I know, I know, I know how it works Yeah I know I know, I know how it works I know, I know, I know how it works I know, I know, I know how it works I’m the other man I'll take the medicine The room spins like a feather Folding over and over Fold seven times, Fold seven times Fold seven times, Fold seven times ‘Cause I put myself here I put myself here Cause I put myself there I put myself there I put myself here I turn my head to the light And now I just look at the sun And now I just look at the sun Now I just look at the sun Look at the sun Look at the sun Look at the sun
8.	[NO YES] 03:34	lyrics	buy track
(Instrumental)
9.	Bags For Life 05:11	lyrics	buy track
(VOX Nadia & Alicia) First Don’t leave your post Panic palette Rise and run Fear Fear in real time Take what you can (hold) (Hold) nothing dear It was all supposed to be more beautiful Far more romantic And gentle still I’ll be seeing you Join Join and divide Alarm fatigue Ringing out Swill Dispositions With Nero fingers Nothing to be done It was all supposed to be more beautiful Far more romantic And gentle still I’ll be seeing you I’ll be seeing you I’ll be seeing you I’ll be seeing you I’ll be seeing you I’ll be seeing you I’ll be seeing you I’ll be seeing you

about

Growth with no reward. Finding strength in your less desirable traits. Coming up with the perfect comeback hours later in bed, glaring at the ceiling. Asking yourself: am I improving, or am I just changing into something unrecognizable? Chicago quartet Ganser probe the futility of striving for self-growth during the chaos of our times for dark comedy and jagged sounds on their potent new album Just Look at That Sky, out July 31st on Felte.

Equal parts Space Odyssey and Ghost World, Ganser released their debut LP Odd Talk in 2018 to favorable coverage from The New York Times, Billboard, and Stereogum. Building on their dissociative disorder namesake, the album’s tone vacillated between frenzied and contemplative, probing on questions of communication, intimacy, and avoidance. On Just Look at That Sky, Ganser further explores the personal inner climate of uncertain times.

Opening track “Lucky” announces an explosive energy that evokes the Midwest noise-rock legacy of bands like Jesus Lizard and Shellac, while embracing a more colorful palette of post-punk and art rock influences. Nadia Garofalo and Alicia Gaines, a self-described two-headed monster who share lead vocal duties, can bring both a recalcitrant cool worthy of Kim Gordon and a booming sneer that recalls Poly Styrene; the discordant interplay of Charlie Landsman’s guitar and Brian Cundiff’s drums on standouts “Self Service” and “Bad Form” build to blistering climaxes that wouldn’t feel out of place on Red Medicine-era Fugazi.

And then there’s Ganser’s lyrics: manic explorations of worry and dread mark this record, the epic messiness of daily life in our damaged times attacked with sardonic specificity as often as generalized doom. Just Look at That Sky isn’t afraid to acknowledge that we’re all Extremely Online all the time, but rather explicitly owns it. These songs chart inner monologues of emphatic confusion, emotions already deeply felt further ratcheted up by the anxiety of always having too much information about other people, and always being just one tweet or status update away from knowing what everyone really thinks about us. This culminates in closing track “Bags for Life,” which imagines how online discourse might tackle a front-row seat for the end of the world.

Nadia Garofalo (keyboards/vocals) and Alicia Gaines (bass/vocals) met in art school, bonding over their shared love of The Residents, outsider communities, and transgressive filmmakers like John Waters and David Lynch. The hands-on, DIY craftsmanship honed in those years has carried over into a group that shares writing duties, collaborates closely on music videos and album art, and crafts Brechtian visuals to accompany their maximalist live show. Having shared stages with the likes of Daughters, Oh Sees, Algiers, as well as Modern English, Ganser is a band that refuses to be pinned down, four individuals of diverse backgrounds functioning with the collective consciousness of four people in uncertain times.

These are songs that never shy away from ugliness and confusion, that believe embracing the totality of the self sometimes means leaning into our dickish behavior. In the past, some listeners have had trouble reconciling non-male voices with the sorts of topics Ganser writes about, but that comes to an end with Just Look at That Sky. Co-produced with Electrelane's Mia Clarke and engineer Brian Fox, this is an assured, fully realized triumph of a record from an art-punk band that’s figured out how to focus on making great art, even if everything else around them falls apart.

credits

released July 31, 2020

Ganser is Alicia Gaines, Nadia Garofalo, Brian Cundiff, & Charlie Landsman. All songs written & performed by Ganser except “Bags for Life” trumpet and trombone performance by Kevin Natoli & Michael Cox.

Recorded 2019 by Brian Fox @ Altered States Audio
Mastered by Barry Grint @ Alchemy Mastering
Vocal performance on “[NO YES]” by Sean Gundersen
All songs produced by Ganser, Mia Clarke, & Brian Fox
2020 GANSER MUSIC (ASCAP) under exclusive license to Felte
Art by Alicia Gaines
Booklet poem by NG
Released on Felte

Like animals that have forgotten what they have or would be called.

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about

Ganser Chicago, Illinois

Dissociative shouts and murmurs.

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