Gauntlet Hair
Denver, CO
Experimental, Psychedelic
No Age, Animal Collective, Cocteau Twins
Audible, articulate lyrics that “make sense” are wildly overrated - the world’s had enough of that. Give us nonsensical, indecipherable, trippy falsetto vocals that make as little sense as this band’s quixotic name. Typified by their single “Top Bunk” from their self-titled 2011 album Gauntlet Hair (Dead Oceans), Gauntlet Hair guitarist and singer Andy Rauworth’s vocals have almost completely dissolved into a cavernous echo chamber, ensconced in vast layers of fuzzy reverb. His sometimes diminutive, sometimes shouted voice is used as another instrument to be modified, stretched or inflated, bubbling up through a massive ocean of sound, punctuated and hemmed-in only by booming, percussive beats. We think “Top Bunk” may be a love song, of sorts, but also owes a nod to contemporary mainstream hip-hop with it’s big bass, boom-tic beats and tinny top notes. The soundscape of “Top Bunk” more closely resembles the latest Kanye or Drake club banger than the indie bands they’re frequently associated with. Another sparkling single from Gauntlet Hair, “Keep Time”, has an apt title: built on a staccato, stop-start rhythm that builds into a powerful head-nodder, with Andy Rauworth’s guitar work tying the whole enterprise together with golden twine. “Keep Time” also inspired one of the creepiest music videos of 2011, all shot in Portland’s warehouse district.