Gum

The mercurial neo-psychedelia of GUM is the creation of Pond and Tame Impala drummer Jay Watson. The solo project’s full-length debut, Delorean Highway, appeared in 2014. Taking a varied approach over the next several years that was always trippy but sometimes drenched in fuzz, sometimes more robotic synth pop, and sometimes crunchier rock, GUM committed to a synth-enhanced psych rock for his more cohesive fourth album, 2018′s The Underdog.
Hailing from Western Australia, Watson began recording self-produced music as GUM in 2011. The alias is short for his nickname, Gumby. The project’s first album, Delorean Highway, arrived on Spinning Top Music in 2014. He followed it a year later with Glamorous Damage, and the synth-hook-heavy Flash in the Pan saw release in 2016. Without relinquishing synths, a more streamlined psych rock defined The Underdog, which arrived on Spinning Top in 2018. Still putting out albums with Pond and on call for the live version of Tame Impala, Watson issued GUM’s fifth long-player, Out in the World, in 2020. ~ Marcy Donelson