Swim in the Lush Waves of Gross Net’s “Gentrification”

Gross Net, aka the moniker of Ireland-based ex-Girls Names guitarist Philip Quinn, has just announced their sophomore record, the cleverly-titled Gross Net Means Gross Net. The album is slated for release on Felte this summer. With that in mind, we’re honored to premiere the first taste, lead single, and video for “Gentrification.” Watch below:

The track is a lush blend of four-on-the-floor electronic percussion, throbbing synth bass, chirpy synth melodies, gentle guitar lines, and Quinn’s honeyed voice, which recalls David Sylvian, The Blue Nile’s Paul Buchanan, and the late Scott Walker. The track touches on the electronic flourishes that bands like The Field Mice and Trembling Blue Stars flirted with in their prime. Quinn also willingly pulls inspiration from Psychic TV, Popol Vuh, and Rachmaninoff, echoes of which manifest across every nuance of the track’s hypnotic beauty.

The video, conceived, directed, and starring Gross Net and Grace McMurray, is a swirling haze of color and shadowplay, all set against swells of city life. Quinn gently strums his guitar and performs the track, with McMurray covering him in silken spiderwebs, a fitting allusion to the song’s take on love and loss against a city landscape.

Gross Net Means Gross Net’s title is an allusion to British Prime Minister Theresa May’s remark “Brexit Means Brexit,” which by Quinn’s own words “means that, despite this being a stylistic departure for Gross Net, Gross Net is whatever I say it is.” As with many of the artists he draws inspiration from, Quinn and Gross Net are carving out new territory, challenging perceptions, courting new fanbases, and evolving as many of the most vital artists are wont to do. Quinn continues:

“Between the albums I’d been thinking of how I could do things differently, in a way I’d been trying to court the techno crowd a bit, but the more I delved into that world the less interested I became. I found a lot to be quite samey, except for those REALLY talented artists who stand out, and I found it lacking in humanity. I think I felt an element of masculinity being expressed in reasonably aggressive ways and a lot of cliched imagery, especially in terms of S&M or ritualism and paganism. A bit trite. 

I felt that in the sound of the previous record, Quantitative Easing, there was an element of a similar aggression, so I wanted to change that up and be a bit more feminine where possible. So, I interpreted that with; less driving beats, by singing more and by singing higher instead of shouting, and by using lyrics which were either more intimate or with a greater sense of (admittedly, fairly black) humour than before. I kinda see this record as wiping the slate clean for what I want to do next…”

Gross Net Means Gross Net drops on August 30th via Felte, who have brought us a slew of incredible records these last few years. Check below for the full album artwork, track listing, and pre-order links:

Gross Net- Gross Net Means Gross Net
1. Light Introduction (for Will)
2. World of Confusion
3. Shedding Skin
4. Theresa May
5. Gentrification
6. Of Late Capitalism
7. Dust to Dust
8. Damascene Conversion
9. The Indignity of Labour
10. Social Nationalists

Pre-order via Bandcamp

Photo by Autumn Andel
Album Illustration + Design by Christopher Michael Hefner