All Things A Fascination

Guerilla Toss “Happy Me”

The songs on Guerilla Toss’ excellent new record Famously Alive are bright and bold in a way that’s half cathartic and half confrontational, as though they’re daring the listener to embrace a positive mindset in the face of seemingly insurmountable anxiety, despair, and dire external circumstances. Kassie Carlson sings from the point of view of someone actively fighting through all this and has managed to break through to the other side, and is now rushing back to tell everyone else – this can be done! “Happy Me” is the climax of the record and the point where the lyrical theme running through all of it is stated outright over a groove that seems to sparkle and gleam before moving into a more triumphant mode at the end. Guerilla Toss successfully pull off a tightrope walk in this music – one false move and they could fall into a cheerful, saccharine abyss. But they keep the sound just weird enough to avoid a very 00s sort of goofiness, and the lyrics based in dark realities enough to keep it from being just hollow inspirational chatter.

Buy it from Bandcamp.