Fullerton, CA’s Gabe Fulvimar has an independent streak that extends beyond the Moog synth-and-Macbook solo recording setup he’s built his sound on. As Gap Dream, he’s found an outlet for articulating serious thoughts bluntly and without hesitation. Three years after the release of Shine Your Light, which merged the slacker garage rock bent of Burger labelmates with mean synths, he’s set to put out a third full-length This is Gap Dream, whose title promises more of the sauciness he’s brought to bear in the past.
Fulvimar calls the lead single off the record an “aural ‘I’m With Stupid’ t-shirt.” Woven from a sunny guitar line that feels characteristically light for the subject matter, “College Music” is a frustrated rejection of technology and the problems it fosters. With the soft build of an easy, steady vocal harmony à la Chris Knox, he spins a darker statement: “soft machines” are the crux of the issues we have relating and using our minds, and they make us into soft machines in turn. “Get off your brainwashed ass,” Fulvimar sings brashly, and then in a quieter admission, “Makes me sick sometimes.” If there were ever a time to think—or listen—twice, now would be it.
This is Gap Dream is out July 22 on Burger Records.
