Daily Dose: Guerilla Toss, “Future Doesn’t Know”
Photo by Vanessa Castro
Daily Dose is your daily source for the song you absolutely, positively need to hear every day. Curated by the Paste Music Team.
Guerilla Toss are a reminder that art-rock doesn’t need to be pompous to push boundaries. The group’s singles from their forthcoming EP, What Would The Odd Do?, show a danceable inventiveness that’s as fun as it is pensive—even when confronting serious topics like addiction and recovery. Their latest track “Future Doesn’t Know” is a pristine glimpse into existential thought that’s propped up by its energetic instrumentation. It’s also incredibly fun.
“Future Doesn’t Know” feels like walking into the center of Times Square and allowing the beauty of countless screens to overwhelm your senses. As the track builds, its extravagant sound asserts itself across every inch of aural space. A pitch-shifting guitar and thumping bass make up the backbone with a noble synth lead at the center, which singer Kassie Carlson’s vocals mimic. The track’s many separate rhythms complement one another with a clockwork-like progression that pushes it deeper into the rabbit hole of wonder.
For Carlson, Guerilla Toss’ music serves both as a creative outlet and a preventative tool keeping her from returning to a severe opioid addiction. Now in a better place, Carlson uses her musical platform to confront existential ideas and her own personal strife, as she explains in a statement:
So many things keep me from going back to that dark place. But most of all its the music, being creative and getting to perform. I live a truly interesting life. Breaking the cycle of addiction is more than just stopping. It’s more about fixing your environment, getting deep into your brain and figuring out what creates that thick dark cloud of depression.
“Future Doesn’t Know” falls in the middle of the group’s five-song EP, What Would The Odd Do, out Oct. 18. A portion of the proceeds from the album will go to the Harlem Harm Reduction Clinic to help in their battle against the opiate crisis. The EP is available for preorder on Guerilla Toss’ Bandcamp here. You can listen to “Future Doesn’t Know” below, and find their EP details and tour dates further down.
