Gabbie Rotts is a self-described “Grudge-Pop” band from Atlanta, Georgia. Their music is somewhere between Waxahatchee, an NC-17 version of Kimya Dawson, and a more narrative-driven Bikini Kill. So for those who don’t already know: punk’s not dead. It’s being made by some pretty badass Atlanta women.
Mystical Harmony — the latest album from Gabbie Rotts — dropped on May 24th. It is a triumph of confessional lyrics and absolute punk fun. Rotts sings about millennial ennui, dead end relationships, the endless scroll of social media, and the 1099 blues. And she switches between topics with breakneck speed. One track she’s leading the band through a catchy Karen O style takedown (“Naomi”), and the next she’s singing sotto voce about an embarrassing mishap with a fake tooth and a missed connection (“Sarah’s Teeth”).
What I’m saying is that it’s hella-relatable.
Rotts — who also performs comedy — is a magnetic presence throughout Mystical Harmony. Songs deliver setup and punchline with just enough tension to hypnotize the listener. At its heart the album is a deadpan therapy session on a pogo stick.
And beyond the lyrical themes the band moves tightly through 27 minutes of explosive, and musically inventive tracks.
“Happy Enough” is an excellent example of Rotts’ charisma and her ability to blend language. Written from the perspective of a relationship’s aftermath, the resigned speaker sings “I’m not happy enough for you” — as bandmates Emily Backus and Olivia Honey provide a bitingly ironic sha-la-la-la backbeat. It ends up burying Rotts’ lyrics and suggests the socially-mandated impulse to keep up a superficial happiness.
These two tensions coming together create the kind of synchronized pathetic fallacy that really only the best music can deliver.
And on a deeper lyrical level there’s some pretty haunting questions and firm declarations. The second verse opens, “Let’s address / crystals and amethyst / astrology, myths, / cause we’re desperate. / Of what is fixed / if it never fit” — which reads as a pretty damning take on the aspirational gloss of Instagram and Co-Star. She closes with “I’m such a bitch / when I get upset.”
“Happy Enough” is emblematic of the existential dread that undermines us all in 2019. And it’s no wonder: there’s a lot to be afraid of. But at least we’re all invited as VIPs to Gabbie Rotts’ garbage party. ~ Written by Ethan Fogus
GABBIE ROTTS ONLINE:
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UPCOMING GABBIE ROTTS TOUR DATES
Catch Gabbie Rotts this Saturday, August 31st at The EARL in Atlanta with New Junk City, Ozello, and Dead Selves, a fundraiser for Pueblo Sin Fronteras. Get your tickets here.
Pueblo Sin Fronteras is a transborder organization made up of human rights defenders of diverse nationality and immigration statuses that promotes accompaniment, humanitarian assistance, leadership development, recognition of human rights, and coordination of know-your-rights training along migrant routes, as well as monitoring and raising awareness of human rights abuses against migrants and refugees in Mexico and the United States.
If you can’t make the show, but would like to make a donation to the cause, please visit the Pueblo Sin Fronteras website: https://www.pueblosinfronteras.org/
Listen to Gabbie Rotts’ “Happy Enough” on our Spotify playlist: Georgia Indie 2019
