It starts with “Human Nature,” a fist-pumper with an awesome build-up to a glorious hook. What follows is a collection of songs that are grungy, crystalline, sexy and ugly.
Reviews: Gauntlet Hair – Stills
National Music Reviews
Gauntlet Hair
Stills
Dead Oceans
Street: 07.16
Gauntlet Hair = Girls + Animal Collective + Sex Gang Children
Is this the glam rock legacy update by the everything-all-at-once generation who’ve grown up with reverby chopped n’ screwed pop music? Is this experimental post-pop-rock? It starts with “Human Nature,” a fist-pumper with an awesome build-up to a glorious hook. What follows is a collection of songs that are grungy, crystalline, sexy and ugly. There’s an undercurrent of slick ’90s glam-metal going on, especially on “Heave,” where Marilyn Manson’s vocal scratches are a big influence. Saccharine Panda Bear-esque vocals also emerge out of Stills’ sludge. Can I call this album glitch-glam? Who cares—these are fuckin’ great tunes. –Christian Schultz
Stills
Dead Oceans
Street: 07.16
Gauntlet Hair = Girls + Animal Collective + Sex Gang Children
Is this the glam rock legacy update by the everything-all-at-once generation who’ve grown up with reverby chopped n’ screwed pop music? Is this experimental post-pop-rock? It starts with “Human Nature,” a fist-pumper with an awesome build-up to a glorious hook. What follows is a collection of songs that are grungy, crystalline, sexy and ugly. There’s an undercurrent of slick ’90s glam-metal going on, especially on “Heave,” where Marilyn Manson’s vocal scratches are a big influence. Saccharine Panda Bear-esque vocals also emerge out of Stills’ sludge. Can I call this album glitch-glam? Who cares—these are fuckin’ great tunes. –Christian Schultz
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