The first studio album from Portland based rockers Gyats0 is ambitious not just in the musical qualities it delivers, but also in the conceptual themes it deals with. The spritely indie rock record incorporates bits and pieces of folk alongside as well to craft an intensely feeling driven piece of rock and roll that’s loaded with intensely heart-warming vocal harmonies, jangling riffs that set the tone, and arrangements that are somehow able to so keenly deliver the pains, agonies, and acceptances of relationships and their undoing’s.
Opening with the riff ready rock and roll of ‘wake’ the record kickstarts in a relatively upbeat and jumpy tune that has you singing along. When the harmonies kick in towards the songs final section, you’re completely attached to that chorus. ‘magpie’ takes the mood down a notch, a much more sombre ballad that feels atmospheric, unloading a whole host of deep sentimentality onto the listener through the more grandiose arrangement, and the harmonies when ‘magpie’ itself is sung.
The record was written when Jacob took time off to re-evaluate a relationship with his long term partner that had recently come undone. The coming apart left him completely flooded with a whole array of emotions that ranged from utter confusion and hurt to longing and even relief. So, in the midst of feeling completely overwhelmed and broken down, there was also an element of freedom that Jacob felt. He felt relieved that he was no longer tied to another person, albeit someone who he cherished dearly. “Not the overwhelming hopelessness of a bad breakup, but more of a purgatory of emotion.” Poignantly put by him, it’s heartache, not heartbreak.
There’s something so keenly nostalgic about Heartacher, the same kind of eloquent and cheery yet simultaneously strangely playful energy that you’d hear in a group like Wilco. There’s not really any sense of modernity or history to the record, with each track merely carrying itself alone on the merit of its melody and harmony. A folk record in the truest sense, Heartacher is a ride that anyone who craves music with emotion is bound to cherish. There’s not a dull moment, although there maybe painful ones. You’re never detached from your own heart as you play through this record, with each piece delivering swathes of emotional unravelling from the group’s own message but also that relates to your own struggles and relationships. It’s a special piece, undoubtedly.