Kentucky’s STREET GNAR makes pop that is simultaneously vast and concise. Sometimes the hooks are as simple as a millisecond arpeggio like the song “Would You” on STUDY WALL, and yet you wake up the next day in a movie scored by those subtle licks. There’s something very visual about Street Gnar, like each song contains its own dried-out dusty landscape complete with water tower and peeled paint shack. Terry Riley achieved a similar synesthesia, creating cathedral-like spaces with pieces like “A Rainbow in Curved Air,” but Street Gnar does it in the course of a 2 minute pop song, and the landscapes are more modest and inviting, like something you might gaze upon from a porch or car window. In this set, Street Gnar dusts off the crackly guitars and analog drums to reveal a cleaner electronic side, while maintaining the same psychedelic warmth and kindness. Check out Gnar Tapes for like-minded pop heads.
WENT THERE: Alice Diop @ the HFA
Appeared screening SAINT OMER 4/10