Tonight the long-awaited new album by GB is released, the project of Gustav Berntsen, one of the greatest exponents of the so-called “Copenhagen sound” that in recent times has fueled successful playlists on Spotify and debates in spaces like Primavera Pro.
Gustav is Danish, unlike some of the artists we find in these playlists, which usually do not lack songs by Smerz or Erika de Casier. Although it is also true that he has cut his teeth in London, where he moved and his new label AD93 is located, or that he spent all the money he got from a Jaguar advertisement, recording properly in Sweden.
And when we say that he appeared in a Jaguar advertisement, it’s not that he put music to it: it means that he appeared as a model. A peculiar character, not too fond of the promotional photos, who you will be able to see perform on September 12 for the first time in Madrid. Specifically, in El Sótano.
After publishing ‘Gusse Music’ in 2024, the album that is released now under the name ‘Herzsprung’, has been presented with 3 singles: the contemplative ‘Starsound’; the counterpart that is for her ‘Adrenaline’, which opens the album; and the lead single ‘The Next Day’, which we choose Song of the Day.
If the Copenhagen sound can include things closer to dream-pop, trip-hop or bedroom pop, always within the underground parameters and far from commercial pop; GB is closer to art-rock, free jazz, the most sparing grunge or the most elusive indie. The pre-successful REMs, those who played only on university stations, can be a reference.
This is the case of what is currently their star song, this ‘The Next Day’ that presents a wheel of chords that is somewhat crystalline, in contrast to lyrics full of indecision (“give me hell, I don’t want anything else / give me peace, I don’t want anything else”). A text that questions the end of both “the hours we spend alone” and “the endless hunts.” Contrast to which is added the beautiful choir of Alba Akvama, the cello of Emily Wittbrodt and the piano of Frederik Vuust.
We leave you with the tracklist of the album that comes out tonight:
01 Adrenaline
02 If Only You’re Still Around
03 The Next Day
04 Starsound
05 Belly
06 Pipe Dream (ft. Alba Akvama)
07 Era
08 Small Gods
09 Shit River
10 Katie Magic True
