On Repeat: Gizpel’s hypnotic double single “No Surrender”

Jakarta-based indie pop band Gizpel have really hypnotised us with their latest dreamy double single No Surrender.

While dream pop may seem like a simple, familiar concept, defining it really isn’t. Rather than being confined to an era or a hairstyle, dream pop seems to capture the celestial air between all out psychedelia, fixated shoegaze and distorted rock n’ roll. Which is why bands like Gizpel who make this space their sonic palette and playground, feel so satiating to listen to.

Gizpel are master navigators of this place between poetry and pop. With their first EP release in 2015, the four-piece group have since crafted a gloomy yet charismatic sound that captures a beauty in indifference. Their analogous lyrics tell stories of life and love with a familiarity that’s close to the heart yet a distant vagueness of exacting emotion. How they arrived at their sound, says the band in previous interviews, is from combining their band member’s disparate musical influences. In the band’s first incarnation as “Leipzig”, they meshed together Nirvana, Tenderfist and Warpaint with computer game soundtracks. Through this experiment, they found their ethereal, reverb-driven atmosphere.

No Surrender is the title of their double single compilation, containing tracks “Your Loss” and “False 9”. The new singles mark an increasingly lush organic sound from the Indonesian band. Where the first EP Short Distance revolved around clean sounds and the industrial beats of a drum machine, both new single tracks are led instead by the aura and ambiance of analog air. “Your Loss” features an at-once addictive bassline that growls with a purposeful twang. The song’s melody and counter melodies intertwine with a brightness which reverberates the happy spots of the mind. “False 9” explodes quickly into Gizpel’s signature reverb soaked sound, charming with its sublime synth drawls.

Gizpel’s No Surrender is out now through our favourite indie label, Kolibri Rekords. You can buy the digital album on Gizpel’s Bandcamp, and watch their lyric videos on YouTube.