Live music review: GUM impressed fans at Parish October 12
Multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, singer and producer, Jay Watson brought his solo project GUM to Parish October 12 to a mostly full venue. The artist is better known for his contributions to Australian psych-rock act, Tame Impala and the group he co-founded, Pond. Watson has made nine albums with Pond but it was his sixth solo effort, Saturnia the wiry Aussie was touring in support of in Austin this month. The material GUM presented included a fairly wide range of rock and vintage synthesizer sounds that highlights the band’s strengths and Watson’s songwriting.
Watson’s stage set-up is a bit atypical in that the group doesn’t employ a bassist. Instead, his keyboardist plays bass on his synthesizer while simultaneously working a melody on another keyboard. His skill is such that GUM audience members don’t readily become aware of the absence of a traditional bassist with the deep, contagious bass rhythms coming from the band. In a similar yet, distinctly Watson-esque way, GUM can be as playful sounding as Tame Impala but with a a different approach to the psych end of things that sets the group apart from the Kevin Parker-led band that put Watson and his bandmates on the music map internationally.
GUM kicked off their 14-song set with the title track from the band’s sophomore effort, Glamorous Damage with its winning guitar riffs to begin the performance with some energy following electronic duo openers, Estereomance. Watson surprisingly included an energetic cover of the Divinyls track, “Science Fiction” Despite what appeared on the surface to be a random set list selection, the song was the great choice for Watson and his band as the synth-rock tune meshed well with his current material. 2018 track, “The Blue Marble” of the album, The Underdog demonstrated Watson’s vocal range as the lanky musician sang falsetto. The singer’s vocal range was a pleasing surprise that left fans impressed by his musical ability.
Set closer, “Race to the Air” was released as a single from GUM’s most recent album. The song is perhaps closest to Watson’s work with Tame Impala as the tune includes a catchy chorus and impressive guitar and drum work. It felt like a fitting end to the performance. Watson and his crew returned to the stage for encore, Music is “Bigger Than Hair” off Saturnia to end a truly enjoyable concert that left fans new to GUM duly impressed with Watson’s musical prowess and performance.
GUM has three remaining dates on their tour including this evening in Seattle, Sunday in Portland and October 26 in Los Angeles. Limited tickets remain for all three shows.
All photos by Drew Doggett
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