Header image by Sam Kristofski.

Jay Watson is someone that barely needs an introduction anymore, especially in Perth. Over the last decade, he's become synonymous with Perth's notorious psych-rock sphere and the talent captured within it, whether it's being a key member of Tame Impala and POND, or whether it's under his own project GUM - somewhat of a one-man-band that Watson leads, and has done so over the space of four albums in the last six years (the most recent of which, The Underdog, being a new peak of his solo career with its arrival in 2018).

In 2020, Jay Watson is continuing his reign. Last week, he announced news of his forthcoming fifth record Out In The World - out June 12th via Spinning Top Records / Caroline Music Australia - and with it comes certainty that 2020 is going to prove another dominative year for the west-coast psych-rock scene. "This album is my attempt at making a record that combines my fascination of how other people live their lives, with my own internal desire to analyse mine and improve it," he explains on the record, which you can already pre-order. "Out In The World was a phrase that conjured a lot of grandeur and ego, yet somehow felt really small and wholesome at the same time."

The news arrived accompanying the release of a new single Don't Let It Go Out, which in addition to teasing the forthcoming fifth record and giving hints at what to expect, also showcases the evolution and growth of one of the country's best songwriters, even in the space of just the two years since Watson's last record as GUM. Opening with echoed percussion and a twinkling guitar melody, the track quickly opens into a melodically rich soundscape; warping bass sections and shimmering vocals uniting with his trademark vocal haze to capture the energy and prowess of someone who knows how to work their sound.

"It's about our modern desire to capture or record and keep every moment," he explains on the single, written in Fremantle amongst his commitments with Tame Impala and POND, who are both coming off successful years themselves. "The ease to not only do all this, but then lose it forever down the track inspires and disturbs me."

Today, however, we're premiering a live take on the track, recorded as somewhat of a sequel to his 'Live in the Living Room' edition of Out In The World shared two weeks back. This time, he turns Don't Let It Go Out into a pacing new dimension; the drum loop that begins the live take giving the single somewhat of a more electronic edge as GUM's signature psych-rock haze comes in. Throw in a few dancing synth melodies and artful break-downs and you have quite an adventure, fleshing out the intricacies of the track in the space of three-minutes-thirty.

It's a live version that really captures Jay Watson's craft as a live musician - something he's quickly become known for due to his work with Tame Impala and POND, but something that definitely shouldn't be overlooked in his own right too. Any chance you get to catch GUM is a chance you should be taking, and with his live shows on hold for the future to everything going on in the world, watching Don't Let It Go Out morphed into a somewhat intimate live setting definitely fills the gap.



Watch the video below, and pre-order Out In The World here.

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