We're Headed To The Lake

Portland’s Indie rock band Guitar continues to make heavy waves in the underground music scene with their fearlessly experimental, ever-evolving sound and commanding showmanship. Fusing elements of 90’s slacker rock, post-punk and beatmaking, Guitar accomplishes multitudes, challenging their audience to think harder about what they actually need from music. The answer is that they need more Guitar. In his book The Trial, Franz Kafka said, “From a certain point onward there is no longer any turning back. That is the point that must be reached.” These words ring true as Guitar releases their second and most powerful LP to date, We’re Headed to the Lake, available from Julia’s War.

Saia Kuli, Guitar’s songwriter and producer, grew up in the outskirts of Portland in a working-class part of town affectionately called The Numbers. There, Kuli, cut his teeth endlessly demoing songs, finding his vision and voice, muscling to find a place as an outsider in the tightly-knit Portland scene. After some trial and error, Kuli formed the band Gary Supply then later joined Nick Normal’s rotating cast of guitar-slingers , carving his place within the Portland punk scene. After riding the rock wave for several years, newly inspired by the prolific beatmaking of producers like MF Doom and Madlib, Kuli withdrew into his Ableton beat lab to explore new modes of songwriting. But no one can escape the power of rock and roll, and Kuli found himself staring at the guitar in the corner of his bedroom. Reinvigorated by bands like Guided By Voices, The Pixies, and Cleaners from Venus, it was time to pick up his Silvertone. Combining his love for making beats and rock n roll, Kuli began to create something new. This was the beginning of Guitar.

Guitar is Kuli’s escape from the classic band-structured songwriting barriers. Using beats and loops, Kuli began to write songs the way he heard them- pushing boundaries and embracing the jangly, discordant 2-note shapes of bands like The Stray Trolleys and The Brotherhood of Lizards- eventually resulting in several singles and an EP. But Kuli’s northstar for Guitar was the continued exploration of all shapes and forms of pop, rock, and punk. So, he continued to write and record, resulting in the creation of Guitar’s first LP, Casting Spells on Turtlehead. Released by Philly label Julia’s War, Casting Spells on Turtlehead melds modern fried shoegaze and punk unified by Kuli’s odd harmonies and off-kilter guitar playing. While this record was well-received, ultimately, Kuli has more to say with his latest LP, We’re Headed to The Lake. Kuli returned to the studio with his drummer Nikhil Wadhwa, his cousin, his wife, and co-producer Morgan Snook in pursuit of a new destination.

With We’re Headed to The Lake, Kuli abandons modern shoegaze conventions and creates something much more akin to 90’s alternative groups like Teenage Fanclub and Guided By Voices. The song, “The Game Has Changed” sounds like a mushroom-fueled reimagining of a Weezer song with its deeply memorable hooks warped by oblong riffs and atonal harmonies. Songs like “Every Day Without Fail” are positively triumphant, urging listeners to bob their heads endlessly as the locked-in guitarmonies sail over the upbeat rhythms, only to dissolve into a twisted, hulking hardcore breakdown. “Chance To Win” features Kuli’s wife and feels like a love-induced fever dream with its elegant, orchestral arrangements. The rest of the album follows suit with densely arranged, compelling, and surprising tracks. We’re Headed to The Lake is a sprawling and invigorating leap for Kuli. The record is generally more lyrically and melodically positive, giving the Guitar audience something hopeful; a uniquely beautiful response to an often dark world. The record feels like a place that Kuli was headed all along, and now, he has finally arrived. He has finally arrived at the lake.