Ganglians - Found Sounds 'n Sad Slackers

Fun fact: Sacramento has one of the highest unemployment rates in the United States. Given that, it’s perhaps not so surprising that friendly local psychedelic popsters Ganglians are somewhat preoccupied by the realities of life under late capitalism. ‘Drop The Act’, the track which opens their euphoric third full-length effort Still Living, is nothing short of a slacker call to arms, singer Ryan Grubbs hollering with frenzied glee: “this is a sad, sad song / for all you sad, sad people / why don’t you pick up the phone / and tell me what you’re gonna do?”

Recovering from the flu contracted on a recent tour, guitarist Kyle Hoover is chipper about the band’s situation. “Worklessness, joblessness, feeling as though you should be doing something with your life but are completely unable to do so. On [‘Drop The Act’] I know that Ryan’s trying to capture an ‘inspire our generation’ [vibe], but … there’s sort of like a mocking sort of feel, like, ‘Yeah! Let’s get together and do nothing, guys!’”

A double irony, as in a few short years Ganglians (a play on ‘Gangly Aliens’ or ‘Gang of Aliens’ – take your pick) have compiled a small but impressive discography, their most recent effort being preceded by the sprawling lysergic spatter of Monster Head Room as well as their self-titled debut. Coming together over a shared love of Brian Wilson’s sixties songwriting (particularly the creepily beautiful Smiley Smile), Hoover also cites The Millenium’s Begin – “the most perfect studio pop record of the sixties” – as a vital touchstone.

Integral to Ganglians’ take on hooks and harmonies is their incorporation of found sounds and samples, lending their songs a cinematic edge. “[We] like to give it that element of escapism,” says Hoover. “When you circulate that sound collage stuff, it makes it feel like you’ve created your own little universe … we use [samples] for that purpose, [establishing] atmosphere … But on [tracks] like ‘Things to Know’, they’re just plain silly – like you know, where the motorcycle builds up and he’s like, riding off into the distance.

While Still Living is rife with tongue-in-cheek touches, Ganglians are just as capable of offering songs up straight from the heart. “’California Cousins’ and ‘Sleep’ are much more personal songs,” says Hoover, “especially for Ryan, he was dealing with relationship issues and whatever else … Half of the album is us getting together and jamming stuff out; half the [songs] were probably written in one night,” he explains. “Then there were songs like ‘Sleep’ that took us like weeks to figure out how we wanted it to work. It’s kind of a bit all over the place.”

Despite his recent brush with the lurgy, Hoover is keen to get back on the road – anywhere’s better than Sacramento. “We’ve been stuck at home, I’m at my folks’ house and Ryan’s able to couch surf wherever we are, but there’s a large period of time where we’re both jobless and homeless. We’re like, ‘When can we get on tour again so we don’t have to worry about life!’ That said, we’ve always both known that the best part about being in a band is writing a record and being in a studio and recording,” he says. “It’s the most magical experience.”


First published in The Brag, Iss. 428, September 6th 2011