Sidney Gish
Who They Are
Sidney Gish is a Boston-based singer/songwriter and (recently graduated) music industry student at Northeastern University who has been writing, recording, and producing her own brand of eclectic bedroom pop since 2015. After uploading singles to Bandcamp for years, Gish released two official full-length LPs, Ed Buys Houses and No Dogs Allowed, that solidified her as a staple of the underground indie music scene and prompted various justified accolades, including a Boston Music Award, a nomination to NPR’s Slingshot Artists to Watch, and a spot on one of Spotify’s coveted “New Music Friday” playlists.
Why You Should Listen
“The voice of a generation” is one of those lofty, highly sought-after labels in the trove of standard jargon that music pundits frequently throw around, yet it is rarely actually pinned to a specific artist. That being said, the more I listen to Sidney Gish, the more apparent it becomes that she is in fact the voice of a generation. Her quirky, stream-of-conscious, and often charmingly self-deprecating lyricism, drawn from the “hellscape” of assorted notes and voice memos on her iPhone, navigates the infinite challenges of modern day college adolescence: grappling with the existential dread of being bound to the wrong career (“Probably when I’m 22 / Then I’ll be doing something new / Because I lose attention fast / And I get bored right off the bat”), struggling with the common tasks of adulting (“I don’t blend in at PetSmart / And that truth remains for the WalMart / ‘Cause in either case they say to me, / ‘What the fuck is lost in Aisle 3?’”), partying to feel young while ignoring imminent responsibilities (“I’m still having fun because I know I should be / When will I stop being such a dumb kid and go / Wherever real life is?”), even schlepping through lifeless required classes (“Turns out I want this class to end / I don’t need to learn to hate it again / I’m falling out of my seat and drawing on the worksheets / Exactly how I used to be”). That being said, Gish’s witty, scintillating lyrics are impeccably tied to catchy melodies, intricate arrangements, layered instrumentals, and clever vocal harmonies that underscore her innate compositional expertise.
What You Should Listen To
Every song in Gish’s diversified catalog will keep you on your toes, providing a whimsical and ultimately enjoyable experience like no other that only gets better the more you listen. Go back over the same songs, and each time you’ll uncover new sonic fixings and hilariously tongue-in-cheek quips. The entirety of No Dogs Allowed, her breakout sophomore album, is mandatory listening. Key singles from Ed Buys Houses include the eponymous fifty-second jingle “!Ed Buys Houses!”, as well as “Hexagons and Other Fun Materials” and “Presumably Dead Arm”.