Life, ideally, is an ever-evolving lesson. With age comes wisdom, it is true, and I truly believe that the greatest courage lies in accepting that through all of our imperfections, we learn to find grace and new ways of dealing with each other and ourselves, hopefully for the better. Not everyone recognizes this, and without getting too personal, I have been watching a part of my extended family fall apart because of a few people’s refusal to grow and change in ways that would benefit them and their family. I am writing this after a small family gathering where one of the people most affected by this rift opened up to me about this issue. Perhaps because I was previously thinking about this article, but when the topic of growth, forgiveness, and change came up, I couldn’t help but be reminded of one of my favorite records this year.
Regeneration by the New York post-metal and doomgaze act GUHTS thematically touches on masking, betrayal, and controlling relationships. The very concept of regeneration, growth and rebirth from whatever came before is a deeply personal subject for me, and witnessing someone else go through it fills me with empathy from relatable circumstances, pride, righteous anger for their oppressors, and a kind of melancholy that exists in the liminal space between nostalgia, self-awareness, and the knowledge that these lessons never end. The album Regeneration evokes those emotions as well, all while delivering one of the most spellbinding, emotive, and powerful albums of the year. Consider the first lines of “White Noise:” ‘Your dirty lies you keep, I see you/you keep them locked up to make sure no one knows/ He smiles and waves behind his white picket fence/that’s adorned with all the lives he’s raped for all his gold.‘
I was fortunate to interview Amber Gardner, vocalist from GUHTS regarding their history, inspirations, and career so far. Many of their answers resonated with themes of growth and regeneration. First, however, let’s get to know the band. Scott Prater (guitars and synths) and Amber Gardner hail from Hudson Valley, New York and started the foundation for GUHTS during the pandemic lockdowns, Amber says:
‘Scott was working on a solo project since we suddenly had all this time on our hands. I’d hear him playing from the other room, and every time, I kept getting ideas. I had to push, really push because Scott didn’t want to add anything else to the mix at first. But finally, one day, he gave in, and we decided to go full experimental with the vocals. We never thought this project would go anywhere, so there was a lot of freedom, trial and error, no rules mentality, full on exploration, especially with me just trying to find my voice, screaming, singing and trying to create what I heard in my head.‘
Their abandon in experimentation is evident on tracks like “The Mirror” whose opening synths and guitar and clean melodic vocals are further embellished by building piano and drum intensity before dropping into a drum machine pulse that rebuilds into a crescendo of layered vocals that is absolutely gripping. Bass duties are rounded out by Daniel Martinez (Brooklyn, NY) who joined the band after their mutual friend Brian (original drummer) suggested the idea while live drummers are in rotation:
‘We all fell in love with the sound we were creating. Now, we’re a tight three-piece, and we’ve had friends fill in for us on drums. Recently, Greg from False Gods has been filling in for our last couple of shows. It’s wild to think how something that started out of pure experimentation during a time of uncertainty has turned into this full-blown project.‘
As a project, Amber and GUHTS seem to be dedicated to learning and evolving. Their first EP, blood feather, features three songs that appear on Regeneration, but they have been rerecorded with new and notable changes that emphasize the band’s thirst for, well, regeneration. Just listen how much more full and textured a track like “Handless Maiden” sounds between the two projects. Amber notes:
‘…most people only see the finished product, but this was two years in the making. It’s important for people to know that it’s all the small, incremental steps, being vulnerable, exposing yourself to those who know better, and staying open to learning, that truly close the gap in the creative process. It’s not just the final outcome, but the journey of constant growth and collaboration that makes it all come together.’
Of course, all of the changes one can make as an artist or songwriter don’t come from a creative vacuum. You can hear many influences in GUHTS. For me, touches of Big | Brave, King Woman, Planning For Burial, and Bossk all come to mind in different fashions. For Amber, however, inspiration comes from both everyday experiences, the interwoven lives of human emotion, thoughts, and connections as we all try to navigate our own neurochemistry and experiences:
‘Being an artist, for me, means diving deep into the human condition, dealing with my own shit, and sometimes finding that I communicate better through songs than I do in real life. Other people’s stories, their struggles, and how they’ve evolved, just like I have, really resonate with me. It’s about working through those raw, messy human experiences and giving others a bit of hope along the way. Sometimes the way you sing something hits someone deeper than words ever could. It’s like the music calls in the people who need to hear it, and that connection can be deeply healing.‘
Amber continues with some artists that inspire her work:
‘I love any project Julie Christmas is part of, PJ Harvey’s raw energy (especially live), and Bad Brains energy. I’m also really into hip-hop—Mac Miller, MC Lyte, Action Bronson, great storytellers that shift me. Oh, and AMENRAis another one that hits me. When I find artists or everyday people who possess something powerful, I pay attention to what they’re doing and how they do it. I’m always learning, finding ways to incorporate what they do well into myself. There’s always room to grow, and I’m constantly trying to figure out how to level up and do things even better.’
Leveling up is a great way to put it. Every struggle and every joy in life can be a means to modify yourself. I live by a philosophy of continuously trying new things, for better or worse, to push myself out of my comfort zone when I can. Every time we do this, our brains are physically changed, at least a little. A new wrinkle in the grey matter propels our thoughts and emotions in a given area just a little further. The art of risk taking can be scary, but I am honestly more scared of complacency, of a life of simple, reliable comforts that have an expected outcome. Sure, that can get you through the day by day routine, but routine becomes trite and numbing. It doesn’t build resilience or anti-fragility. GUHTS understands this; it is built into their name.
‘We always talked about that ‘gut’ feeling, that deep, intuitive hit you get when music really moves you. That’s where ‘GUHTS‘ came from. We threw in the silent ‘h’ for a bit of a visual twist and to reflect the true pronunciation you’d find in the dictionary. It looked different, felt different, and we loved that. But ‘GUHTS‘ turned into something more, it became an acronym for ‘Give Us Hope Through Suffering.’ It just felt right, like it summed up exactly what we’re trying to convey with our music. So, the name isn’t just a random word, it’s a feeling, an intuition, and a message of hope through the tough times.‘
After all we have been through and all we can go through, isn’t hope one of the things that keeps us going? ‘Tomorrow is another day,‘ the adage goes, and in that lies more opportunity for our lives to change, even if incrementally. Throughout our interview, Amber expressed the importance of approaching music and creation as a step-by-step process, that each day and moment of work put in continues to build on the previous one, how each show, each fan, each fellow artist moves this dream a little further and how each of those things are sources of appreciation and inspiration.
When I first heard Regeneration, I knew there were layers to this music, not just the heavy and satisfying doses of sludge, shoegaze, post-metal, and doom, but that the emotions on display, vocally, lyrically, and musically, were tapping into universal truths. It is comforting to know that GUHTS exists and is continuing to create music that resonates in that way. Amber said that they plan to hunker down over the winter and record their next album with hopes of touring the US and Europe next year. I cannot wait for what the future holds for GUHTS and by proxy, how their music will continue to heal people like me.
Follow GUHTS on Instagram, and be sure to support them on Bandcamp.
GUHTS is…
Amber Gardner – Vocals
Scott Prater – Guitars, Synthesizers
Daniel Martinez – Bass
Photo credit: @dozenfingers_photography
