Jay Watson, aka GUM, is a master of many trades. Not only does he hold valuable positions in both Tame Impala and POND, but he also holds his own when it comes to his solo material. Having just recently released his sophomore album under his GUM moniker titled Glamorous Damage, he’s cemented everyone’s expectations that not only is he a wizard when it comes to his mates’ bands, but a force to be reckoned with on his own.
Now, we are a little biased. We couldn’t get enough of Glamorous Damage (you can read our review here), with it’s retro futurist funk and intergalactic grooves. Spanning 13 tracks, he explores the future in a Flash Gordon style journey, taking no prisoners when it comes to the infectious earworms he’s created. His lead single Anesthetized Lesson is one such earworm, and a song that will get you up and moving instantly.
It seems the GUM train isn’t showing any signs of stopping post-album release, with Watson recently dropping some accompanying visuals for his latest single. From just one listen of Anesthetized Lesson, you could probably already imagine the type of clip that Watson would make to go along with it, and you probably wouldn’t be too far off. Drawing obvious influence from the likes of David Bowie, Brian Eno and even Prince, Watson stares down the camera in a technicoloured suit, plays synth besides a yellow fire hydrant and lounges in a majestic, white throw like it’s nobody’s business. It’s a hot contender for clip of the year, purely because of how much fun GUM looks like he’s having – and how serious he takes it.
If you can’t get enough of that GUM sound and you need to see him in action, you are in luck! He has just nabbed a highly sought after support slot with none other than Mac DeMarco next year, and you can see all those details below.
Glamorous Damage is out now via Spinning Top Music.