One of my favorite discoveries of 2022 is Canadian artist Gore Gloss. He caught my attention earlier this year with “Famous,” a track that contains a series of staccato taps that make it feel fresh and offbeat. It is among my favorite songs of the year.
Gore Gloss returns today with his latest single, “The Flame.” It’s a mid-tempo track with lush synth arrangements and a gracious vocal that sounds slightly reminiscent of Morrissey. If you listen closely to the song in a pair of high-quality headphones, at one point you can hear the same staccato tapping motif from “Famous,” giving both songs a cohesive yet wildly different atmosphere.
The video for “The Flame” features black and white footage of Gore Gloss and artist Talvi Faustmann in period costumes and tragic circumstances that convey the song’s lovesick, out-of-time emotions.
Who is Gore Gloss?
Gore Gloss is the musical project of singer/producer Geoff Scott, who hails from Toronto. He doesn’t have an active social media presence (no Facebook), so it’s difficult to find information about him. A press sheet I found online says “Gore Gloss is the tension between innocence and perversion, it’s the smell of sweat and the taste of bad wine.”
Geoff has a deep crooner’s voice and a soothing delivery that would serve him well as a lounge singer. Yet he blends it with dynamic electronics and thumping drum patterns for a truly unique vibe. At times, I want to compare his sound and look to TR/ST’s Robert Alfons, though Geoff’s lyrics are far more intelligible.
His Spotify bio offers more hints about the project:
The name Gore Gloss serves as a sonic / visual mission statement: Dirty, imperfect textures (Gore), with pop cultural sensibilities (Gloss). Finding inspiration in film, Gore Gloss is a musical project with a strong visual component.
Musically, The physicality of a techno bass drum, throbbing from a big sound system, engaging the body (once again… Gore) is counter-point to the crooning vocal melodies and atmospheric synth-arrangements (…Gloss).
Gore Gloss discography
Gore Gloss has been creating music since at least 2017 though his first track on Spotify, “Bloom I,” arrived in 2019. His available discography contains 15 songs so far, including a four-track EP called Glass Garden that he released in 2020. He was particularly prolific in 2020, releasing 10 songs, among them the energetic “All Night” and a more experimental track called “From Dusk Til Dawn.”
In 2021, Gore Gloss released just one song, “You + Me,” that’s a new iteration of an earlier track he began writing when he was 17. The reworked version serves as a nostalgic reflection of the people and places he’s encountered since that time.
“The Flame” is one of three Gore Gloss songs released this year. We’ve also heard the previously mentioned “Famous” and an earlier track called “Cowboys vs Saints” that features techno bass throbbing from the speakers.
You can find “The Flame” on Spotify.
