Live Review: Gussy releases daring and introspective new single, 'In Order to Love'
Sydney artist GUSSY has always done things their own way. They've always had an uncompromising sense of style and self-awareness that draws you in - they know what they want, they know who they are, and now they know how to express it. This is continued in their latest efforts, a brand new video for new single 'In Order to Love', and the results have us more captivated than ever.
In the ‘In Order to Love’ video, Gussy performs introspection in a series of stylishly angled close ups co-directed by Dylan Nicolas and Joe Brennan. The musical production in this song takes Gussy’s voice into a dreamy and purposefully undefined space, reflected visually in the long shots of them dancing against a plain landscape of green fields and blue skies (which could be anywhere). This serves as an appropriate backdrop for such a meditative and almost philosophical song, which starts out soft and eerie, gradually building up with layering synths, and finally arrives at Gussy’s echoey and larger-than-life vocals.
The languid soundscape that Gussy has created in this track forgoes musical tension, proceeding at a slow and measured pace, revelling in emotional stasis. The song repeats the title words, ‘In Order to Love,’ endlessly, without aiming to provide any answers to the questions it poses. Gussy says “‘In Order to Love’ is about feeling like you're watching the world without subtitles. Everyone around you seems to know something that you don't and you're afraid you'll make a mistake, you want someone to better explain it all. The song is a series of questions that may never be answered, but screaming them from the rooftops can do a world of good."
Indeed, Gussy looks directly into the camera, invariably posing a series of questions about love and relationships which in essence don’t add up to all that much, but are effective in creating the introspective, intimate atmosphere they seemed to be going for. ‘I understand what they’re talking about / When they say that love is for fools,’ Gussy sings, in lyrics which are perhaps a bit cliché by now, however, when accompanied by ‘I feel that I’m broken/ I feel I’m not whole/ I feel it escapes me to be happy in love with someone to hold whose life is unruled by me,’ it suggests a deeper hurt, adding more complex emotional depth to the song.
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The video showcases Gussy's unique ability to cross genres and disciplines (making use of their background in both dance and film), and is a noble attempt at expressing existential and reflective themes through a pop format.
WORDS BY CAMILLA PATINI
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