Guerilla Toss are a band meant to be seen in the nighttime, when you’re ready to get weird.
Their show at Barracuda on Friday evening for Infinity Cat Recordings’ showcase was their fourth set of the day, but they brought A-game intensity, including their signature, ornate light show carefully timed with the beat, plus bizarre cat/dog/explosion projections cast on the wall behind them. Cutting their teeth in Boston’s tough basement scene, GT’s new LP Eraser Stargazer finds the now-Brooklyn-based crew trading in hyperactive punk for funk, a shift reflected in the band’s brief set.
While still holding tight to off-kilter, unpredictable arrangements, what was once an abrasive, aggressive sound inevitably breeding mosh pits and bloody noses instead bore innocent jumping and dancing from the crowd. Vocalist Kassie Carlson’s shout-sing was reminiscent of the Knife’s Karin Dreijer Andersson in the context of Guerilla Toss’s new sound, each song driven by a tangible, guiding groove. While they no longer offered a crazed punk catharsis, being able to dance to every single song on the set list wasn’t something to complain about.
This article appears in March 18 • 2016.