Luna Shadows embraces the messy thrill of saying exactly how you feel on ‘gutspill’, a playful collision of her dreamy alt-pop world with the emo and pop-punk sounds of the early 2000s. Co-written and co-produced with Hot Mulligan’s Chris Freeman, the track captures the moment when keeping a crush safely contained is no longer an option. As Luna Shadows puts it, “It’s an ode to saying what you mean, even if you have to turn it into poetry and put it in a song.”
Twinkling, intricate guitar lines nod towards Midwest emo, but ‘gutspill’ has its feet much more firmly planted in crunchy, power-chord-heavy pop-punk. Dreamy electronics still shimmer underneath, while Luna’s airy vocal gains just enough bite to meet the guitars head-on. Layered vocals become increasingly important as the song progresses, eventually joined by playful oo-wee-oos and shouty gang vocals as the initially contained arrangement gathers momentum. By the final crescendo, everything finally bursts open – the musical equivalent of those feelings falling out “like confetti.”
‘gutspill’s self-directed video throws itself equally enthusiastically into early-2000s nostalgia, cutting between a traditional band performance, night-time scenes on a football pitch and Luna framed inside a giant star-shaped spotlight. Bright, bouncy and knowingly nostalgic, ‘gutspill’ proves that sometimes wearing your heart on your sleeve is considerably more fun than keeping your guts in.
