Gustaf

Gustaf craft spare yet propulsive indie rock that balances cerebral edge with playful energy, relying on stripped-down beats, economical guitar lines, and traded vocals that blur sonic and gender lines. One vocalist, Tarra Thiessen, draws on Laurie Anderson’s technique known as Audio Drag by routing her voice through a pitch-lowering pedal to produce a male timbre, which layers added nuance and irony into the material she exchanges with Lydia Gammill. After building strong word-of-mouth through high-energy performances, the New York City group gave wider audiences access via their first album, Audio Drag for Ego Slobs, issued in 2021, followed by the more focused and refined Package, Pt. 2 in 2024.

The project originated in 2018 when Thiessen, who also handles percussion, and bassist Tine Hill were active in Ex-Girlfriends. That band had arranged dates around an appearance at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas; Thiessen recruited vocalist Lydia Gammill for driving duties on the condition that Gammill could perform several shows en route. When Ex-Girlfriends disbanded just before departure, the remaining members seized the moment to form something new, enlisting guitarist Vram Kherlopian, a prior collaborator of Gammill’s, and setting off without a finalized name. Upon returning, they replaced their original drummer with Melissa Lucciola, solidifying the lineup as Gustaf.

The quintet quickly embedded itself in the local club circuit, winning support through a mix of downtown sophistication, sharp humor, and economical, rhythm-driven grooves. Early bills paired them with Tropical Fuck Storm, Omni, Dehd, Suicide co-founder Martin Rev, and No Wave saxophonist James Chance, while Beck further validated them by selecting the band for an invitation-only loft show. Momentum paused when COVID-19 halted New York live music in March 2020, prompting the group to focus on studio work; they issued “Mine” in October 2020 and “Design” two months later, both through Royal Mountain Records, before unveiling “Book” in July 2021.

They tracked their debut full-length at Brooklyn’s Honey Jar Studio under producer Carlos Hernandez, and Royal Mountain released Audio Drag for Ego Slobs in October 2021. An extensive U.S. tour supporting Idles helped promote the record. Later sessions for the follow-up involved producer and engineer Erin Tonkon, whose résumé includes work with David Bowie, Daniel Boeckner, and Richard Hell. The resulting Package, Pt. 2 appeared in April 2024 with greater precision and concision. Ahead of its release, Gustaf opened European dates for Yard Act; afterward they mounted North American headline shows and alternated between their own U.K. and European concerts and support slots for Sleater-Kinney.