Seattle’s Guest Directors are spearheaded by Gary Thorstensen (ex-TAD) and Julie D (ex-Chinchilla), who crossed paths in 2014 and discussed their love of power pop and ’60s folk-rock. Add Rian Turner and Charles Russo to the equation, and you’ve got a band with a shoegaze template that recruits many, many influences for this nine-song album.
“Meet You On The Land” starts with Thorstensen’s bright guitar and Turner’s punchy drumming alongside D’s flowing and melodic vocals that suit the swirling climate. “You Are Never” follows, and makes great use of Russo’s intricate bass, as both D and Thorstensen contribute vocals to a post-punk influenced delivery.
Closer to the middle, the mesmerizing “Now I Know” is a bit rugged but certainly still melodic, while “Just Not Today” offers a dual guitar attack that’s drenched in harmonics and timeless shoegaze flavor.
The remainder of the album is just as great. “So Many Somedays” uses a prettiness with D handling piano, too, plus some background ambience, and “Restore Your Soul” places Thorstensen on lead vocals, where the meticulous rhythm section emits a hint of mystery and even darkness.
“Blame Pandora,” one of the album’s best (though there isn’t a bad tune in the bunch), builds into a swift and nearly dance floor friendly moment of noisey-pop, before “At The Gate” slows things down with a distinct coziness. “What Shapes They Take” exits, and recruits a rare dreaminess that’s soulful, intimate and balances thick layers of reverb amid a striking beauty.
You might be reminded of Unwound, Sonic Youth, Swervedriver, Afghan Whigs or Rainer Maria here, which could never be a bad thing, and if jazz, reverb, psychedelic, post-everything and Dreamgaze are sounds you gravitate to, Guest Directors could be your new favorite band.
