Famously Alive

by Guerilla Toss

Overview

Guerilla Toss have always made dense, energetic, colorful music that's felt like it's bursting at the seams, but their first Sub Pop full-length comes with a renewed sense of purpose. In 2017, frontperson Kassie Carlson underwent open-heart surgery to remove a blood clot caused by an addiction to opiates. The group's 2019 EP What Would the Odd Do? was inspired by her recovery and sobriety, but Famously Alive is more overtly focused on self-acceptance and celebrating life. The album was written during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, and being at home all the time forced Carlson to manage her anxiety and become comfortable in her own skin. By the sound of this album, she must feel better than ever, as this is their sunniest, most cheerful music. Shifting from the funky, no wave-influenced dance-punk of their previous work, this record more openly embraces pop influences, covering vocal hooks in Auto-Tune and occasionally hinting at a fondness for emo and pop-punk. Sonically, the group still paint panoramic rainbows, stretching out distorted guitars and shimmering keyboards with a dizzying array of effects. The album's first track, "Cannibal Capital," begins with a busy sound collage that sounds like an imitation of a between-song bumper on a commercial rock station, and shocks of distortion occasionally punctuate the song's relatively stripped-down groove, as Carlson's restrained vocals address her mental health battles. She sounds far more extroverted on the rest of the album, with the title track coming closer to an Andrew W.K.-style life encouragement anthem, and others like "Live Exponential" and "I Got Spirit" offering similar exclamations, while taking entirely different rhythmic approaches. Throughout the album, Guerilla Toss maintain an unabashedly positive attitude, and the band's exuberance is undeniable. ~ Paul Simpson

Product Details

Release Date:	03/25/2022
Label:	Sub Pop
UPC:	0098787148046

Tracks

1. Cannibal Capital
2. Famously Alive
3. Live Exponential
4. Mermaid Airplane
5. Wild Fantasy
6. Pyramid Humm
7. Excitable Girls
8. I Got Spirit
9. Happy Me
10. Heathen In Me

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Guerilla Toss   Primary Artist
Kassie Carlson   Vocals
Stephe Cooper   Bass
Adam Markiewicz   Violin (Electric)
Marilu Donovan   Harp
Wes Kaplan   Guitar
Nick Forte   Electronics,Drum Machine
Abe Seiferth   Synthesizer
Arian Shafiee   Guitar

Technical Credits

Nick Forte   Producer,Sound Design,Composer
Kassie Carlson   Composer,Lyricist,Producer
Peter Negroponte   Composer,Producer,Sound Design
Adam Markiewicz   Composer
Dan Walker   Mastering
Marilu Donovan   Composer
Jonny Kosmo   Composer,Lyricist
Dasha Plesen   Artwork
Elijah Seger   Photography
Wes Kaplan   Composer
Jonathan Tatelman   Lyricist
Brian Ross   Management
Dusty Summers   Art Direction
Abe Seiferth   Mixing,Engineer,Producer,Sound Design
Arian Shafiee   Composer,Producer,Sound Design