Issue 49 / October 2014

fBido Lito! October 2014
7
set the blogs alight, is perhaps their most direct: layers of
weaving guitars and eddying vocals dovetailing in a crescendo
of pop, before ebbing back to a rich vocal centrepiece. These
tracks are in similar company with the band’s other material,
and though the back-catalogue may be slim thus far, with just
a few demos to go on, Gulf’s craftsmanship is evidently deft to
say the least.
That the band sound so fully formed so soon out of the gate
is just one of the reasons that the plaudits continue to rain on
Gulf, yet that itself is explicable in that Mark and fellow guitarist
Femi Fadero had spent three years in a trio, jamming in the
old drummer’s house and “just getting the sound right,” until
the group expanded via word of mouth around the hivemind
of the Liverpool scene that is Elevator studios. “This building is
like, everyone,” says Jake. “There are tonnes of people in bands
around here so it’s easy to find people. I had just heard there
was a band looking for a bassist”
When asked to describe their own music, the band begin to
struggle, cluttering through a dozen genres until Josh is the
first to compose himself: “Psychedelia is a main influence, but
then you’ve got pop music and soul… and also a bit of funk.”
“It’s more like the sounds, the effects, a lot of, dare I say, the
‘sonics’ of [psychedelia]… A lot more sort of soundscape stuff,”
expands his frontman. And therein lies the chief virtue of Gulf’s
material. Though the finished article is effortlessly tight, their
kaleidoscopic sound amalgamates a host of styles into a piece
that’s immediate and demanding, yet still has enough subtlety
to draw the listener back. Take Tell Me Again, for example
(though any of their tracks can boast similar craftsmanship): at
heart the tune is a nimble three-and-a-half-minute pop number,
yet beneath an accessible veil of lively songsmithery is all
manner of depth, from the funk-infused backing guitar line to
the whispering dash of a sporadic counter-melody from the
synths. Listen to it on repeat and there’s even more subtlety
to be delved.
Though the tracks – which are to be released in stages
leading up to a November headline show at London’s Old Blue
Last – draw on an abundance of influences, there’s a musical
elephant in the room that has to be addressed: Gulf sound a
lot like Tame Impala, perhaps ample justification for dismissal
from some. “We always get compared to Tame Impala; I think
that’s pretty obvious,” says Josh, and those comparisons are
sure to continue as long as Gulf’s particular penchant for
louche psych pop follows suit. There’s more going on than a
well-packaged tribute though. Winter Sun, in particular, boasts
an ephemeral segment of echoing walls of guitar that draw to
mind a more tightly-bottled blend of one of The Horrors’ more
epic segments, and there’s even an understated fondness for
all things dance. The group find common ground with fellow
acclaimed Liverpudlians Outfit, the two sharing an infusion of
dance in their predominantly indie leanings, and with London
shoegazers Childhood. “I think we’re more like The Flaming Lips
[than Tame Impala] actually,” says Mark. “There’s a bit of the
sound of The Flaming Lips with beats from Motown and things
like that.” Predominantly then, though undeniably led by firm
similarities with those psychedelic Aussies, Gulf are something
of a cocktail, with an astounding amount to draw on for a band
so young.
Unfortunately for the clickbait headlines, Gulf are in reality
not wildly enigmatic, feather boa-wearing crackpots, nor are
they all that mysterious. Rather, this five-piece are simply a very
good band with a healthy aversion to the platitudes of online
saturation. To focus on that aspect of the group, however, is to
slightly miss the point. What’s great about Gulf is a sense of
straightforwardness, that no faux-outrageous quotes or endless,
perpetual publicity drives precede the songs themselves, and
that those songs stand up as very, very good. Perhaps the group
have yet to properly free themselves of heavy outside influence
and properly push their own boundaries, but for now we can
content ourselves with some truly marvellous material.
soundcloud.com/gulf
bidolito.co.uk