When NYC-based experimental dance punks since time immemorial (okay, since 2011) Guerilla Toss were in Vermont recording new full-lengthYou’re Weird Now, Kassie Carlson would make what she called “punk lunch,” a communal meal where the Guerilla Toss front woman would raid the studio fridge for whatever was left to “put on the table…and [make] a sandwich of the most random ingredients ever.”
Regularly joining punk lunch were two weird music legends in their own respective worlds: Stephen Malkmus (Pavement, The Jicks….not sure who I’m explaining this to) and Trey Anastasio, Phish guitarist and owner of The Barn, the recording studio owned where Guerilla Toss (no strangers to the “weird music”tag themselves”) were makingYou’re Weird Now with Malkmus in the producer seat. (Engineer Bryce Goggin, who’s worked with Malkmus sinceCrooked Rain, Crooked Rain, was also part of the crew.)
While the idea of the guy from Phish and the guy from Pavement sitting around with Guerilla Toss congenially assembling sandwiches from random foodstuffs dug up from the bowels of a studio fridge might seem absurd, it also makes total sense. Because really, if there is any band who is the natural bridge between slacker punks who saw Pavement way before you did and wild-eyed wooks who’ve seen Phish more times than you ever will (and let’s throw in the eccentrics in 90s drip following one-time GT tour mates Primus around, as well), it could only be Guerilla Toss, a band so imaginative and consistently themselves that they’re basically the IRL manifestation of a utopian post-snob world where all musical ideas are worthy of expression and everyone is welcome.This is the message powering You’re Weird Now, Guerilla Toss’ fifth album and second for SubPop.
A hugely creative and joyful statement about the joy of creativity, with You’re Weird Now Guerilla Toss reclaim the word “weird” for everyone brave enough to let their freak flag fly and stay true to their artistic vision no matter what—a way riskier act than it’s ever given credit for, and one that requires a certain amount of serene self-confidence that it takes time and effort to cultivate and sustain.
