GAUCHE
A People’s History of Gauche
(Merge)
With members of Priests and Downtown Boys in its ranks, Gauche’s music is a firestorm of defiant energy, pogo-stick rhythms, and riotous saxophone solos. The D.C. power-punk band’s debut album, A People’s History of Gauche, releases all of the anxiety and frustration of trying to survive within the claustrophobic confines of modern America. In just 36 minutes, Gauche runs a thread through colonization, the chronic impunity of white people’s violence toward people of color, late capitalism’s boa-constrictor squeeze, toxic relationship dynamics, and the itchy feeling of being constantly surveilled. But A People’s History is by no means defeatist; when they scream “I’m running out of options and I’m tired of being empty-handed,” Gauche empowers listeners to organize and fight back against these oppressive forces (but also to take plenty of dance breaks). (5/5)
By Ciara Dolan
A People’s History of Gauche was released July 12, 2019. This article originally appeared in the July/August 2019 print edition of BUST Magazine. Subscribe today!
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