Guerilla Toss is an indie rock band from Boston, Massachusetts consisting of drummer Peter Negroponte, guitarist Arian Shafiee, keyboardist Jake Lichter, bassist Zach Lewellyn & frontwoman Kassie Carlson. Following their first couple full-lengths Gay Disco & Eraser Stargazer, they would sign to DFA Records for the well received GT Ultra & Twisted Crystal until making their Sub Pop Records debut Famously Alive in 2022 experimenting with a neo-psychedelic indietronic sound. Few years later, they’re following it up with their 6th album.

“Krystal Ball” starts with a neo-psychedelic indie rock/synth-punk hybrid apologizing for coming to party whereas “Psychosis is Just a Number” blends dance-punk, zolo, mutant disco, dance-punk revival, neo-psychedelia, progressive rock & funk rock singing about staying present in the chaos. 

The final single “CEO of Personal & Pleasure” finds Kassie taking control of her own happiness taking some time to reclaim herself from all the pressure leading into “Life’s a Zoo” fusing experimental rock, zolo, sound collage & synth-punk to take on the theme of overstimulation, which I understand as an autistic person.

“Red Flag to an Angry Bull” was my least favorite single of the 4 culminating in neo-psychedelia, indie rock, indie pop, psychedelic pop, piano rock, synthpop & psychedelic rock singing about feeling as if a rubber tongue’s coming right for her just before “Panglossian Mannequin” conceptually takes heavy inspiration from the 1759 satire The Optimist written by Voltaire.

We get some more doses of dance-punk revival on “Deep Sight” to start the final leg of You’re Weird Now containing some of the most commanding vocal performances from Kassie especially towards the backend of it while “When Dogs Bark” sings about mutts wanting to be seen. “Crocodile Cloud” taps back into the synth-punk influences 1 last time with some occasional shouted vocals popping in building up ahead of the space punk outro “Favorite Sun”.

Encouraging for everyone brave enough to let their freak flag wave high & stay true to their artistic vision, You’re Weird Now marks a significant point for Guerilla Toss’ career bringing new clarity to their confidently high energy performances reaching the same pedestal as Famously Alive & both their DFA full-lengths. The neo-psychedelic production here puts a bigger emphasis on art punk, zolo & new wave although the secondary influences include indie rock, indie pop, psychedelic pop, piano rock, synthpop, psychedelic rock, experimental rock, zolo, sound collage & synth-punk.

Score: 4/5

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