News: GUM (of Tame Impala and Pond) announces new album, unveils track and announces Australian/US tour

Multi-instrumentalist GUM (aka Jay Watson of Pond and touring member of Tame Impala) has announced his new album, Saturnia, arriving September 15th on Spinning Top Records and unveiled a new track, ‘Would It Pain You To See” ahead of tour news.

‘Would It Pain You To See’ has a sweeping cinematic flow to it, augmented by plush strings and Watson’s Burt Bacharach crooning delivery. Punctuated by a fuzzy guitar, the song has a grand chorus and a red velvet lounge room easy listening gloss. It is imperial and grand. Watson says of the track:

I wrote this in lockdown with my newborn son, on my Wurli. My songs are never really literal or with obvious meaning, but if I had to say what this one is about it would be the conflict of apathy and caring a lot about something, that’s inside all of us. It seems to be particularly confusing and crude in today’s day and age. I love the beautiful strings part played by Jesse Kotansky.

The track is accompanied by a luscious, enigmatic performance video directed by Michael Hili (who also directed Flume’s ‘Say Nothing’), who says: 

Jay’s such a talent, you can feel his fingerprint on every part of the song, a true studio wizard. The inspiration for the video came from imagining Jay in his backyard studio piecing together the track. Deep into the process, time passes and shifts, characters materialise fully formed in costume playing the strings part Jay is writing in his mind. Somewhere in the wee hours insecurity creeps in and you can feel the eyes of a few demons and inspirations.

It’s an immersive and beautifully shot accompaniment:

The album ‘Saturnia’ is out on 15 September and can be pre-ordered here. In the meatime, GUM is touring throughout Australia and the US in the coming months:
*tickets on sale here*
8th Sept | Perth, WA – Freo.Social
14th Sept | Brisbane, QLD – The Brightside 
15th Sept | Sydney, NSW – Oxford Art Factory 
16th Sept | Melbourne, VIC – The Night Cat 
4th Oct | New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom 
7th Oct | Washington, D.C. – Black Cat 
10th Oct | Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall 
12th Oct | Austin, TX – Parish
13th Oct | Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall 
14th Oct | Dallas, T X– Club Dada 
18th Oct | San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall 
20th Oct | Seattle, WA – Madame Lou’s (early show) 
22nd Oct | Portland, OR – Polaris Hall 
26th Oct | Los Angeles, CA – Lodge Room 

Feature Photograph: Grant Spanier