LISTEN LIKE THIEVES: Guerilla Toss “Plants”

It’s rare for me to find a band that I absolutely adore from the moment I first discover them, but such is the case with Guerilla Toss, a New York-based outfit whose music may be appropriately, though inconclusively, described as art rock. Their tunes find themselves on an acid-soaked spectrum that splices demented moshpit ragers with extraterrestrial funk jams, accounting for everything found in-between and bookending. Their sound advances in prospect and aim with each addition to their already broad discography, though the 2017 record GT Ultra represents a definite shift away from the complicated, punkish amalgamation of experimental, no-wave psychedelia toward a tangible and downright groovy exploration of what is still comfortably settled in the house of psychedelic rock. For a frame of reference, compare their 2012 LP Jeffrey Johnson to any recent single. The band’s new single, “Plants,” is no different—here we have a soaring and relentlessly dance-inspiring track to answer the call of 2018’s Twisted Crystal, a jam-friendly collection of songs that urges the listener to tune in, turn on, and boogie down. “Plants” is the teaser for Guerilla Toss’ new EP What Would The Odd Do? which drops November 15th on Bandcamp. Give ’til it hurts: a portion of the album proceeds are to be donated to the Harlem Harm Reduction Clinic. — PEYTON MITZEL