GIFT - “Strange”

SXSW 2022 - OEB Score: 7; Popularity Index: 2

Pairs Well With…Tame Impala, Glass Animals, Pond

Emerging Brooklyn psych rock band GIFT released their debut single “Strange” in 2020, a hazy yet pulsating number combining space-rock grooves with hooky, almost pop-oriented songwriting. Guitars and synths equally carry the load instrumentally, linking classic rock with chillwave production for modern results. Densely produced, there’s also a 90s grunge influence in GIFT’s riffs and percussion that ground their otherwise exploratory sound. It’s just one song so far from GIFT, so SXSW will prove fertile ground to take in a full set of this electric and full sonic dream. (Kevin McStravick)