Ganser: Animal Hospital

"When people say something is "Lynchian," they usually mean that it's uncanny or almost imperceptibly off. Or they mean something pure and lovely and innocent, presented in a frame that makes you sense the unseen insects crawling over one another, just below the surface. As you have no doubt noticed, a lot of art and a discomfiting percentage of current events meet this description. It's a useful term, which is why it's overused."

"Think of how the sinister drones of "Laura Palmer's Theme," from Twin Peaks, are suddenly overwhelmed by a brightly sad piano sequence meant to reflect the real pain hidden within surreal events. Should you need a reminder, Chicago post-punk standard-bearers Ganser drop those dire chords directly into "Black Sand," the first song on . Their bare-faced homage risks being predictable simply because it's so obvious. But with its remarkably dense noise perfumed by an atmosphere of weird tenderness, Animal Hospital pays off the gamble."

Lynchian commonly means uncanny or almost imperceptibly off, or something pure and lovely presented in a frame that reveals unseen disquiet. The sinister drones of "Laura Palmer's Theme" give way to a brightly sad piano sequence that reflects real pain beneath surreal events. Ganser insert dire chords into "Black Sand" and pair dense noise with an atmosphere of weird tenderness, making Animal Hospital rewarding rather than merely predictable. Animal Hospital arrives five years after Just Look at That Sky. Ganser built a reputation touring with Idles, Mclusky, Bikini Kill, and Gilla Band and collaborating with Angus Andrew. Nadia Garofalo departs; Sophie Sputnik replaces her and sings on "Black Sand" seamlessly, suggesting growth from steady writing and touring.

Read at Pitchfork