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Aug 30, 2019 By Christopher Roberts Guerilla Toss

New York five-piece Guerilla Toss have announced a new EP, What Would the Odd Do?, and shared its first single, “Plant.” What Would the Odd Do? is due out November 15 via NNA Tapes. Listen to “Plant” below, followed by the EP’s tracklist.

The EP is the follow-up to 2018’s full-length Twisted Crystal (released on DFA). What Would the Odd Do? was borne out of truly trying times for Guerilla Toss singer/songwriter/bandleader Kassie Carlson: in 2017 she had open heart surgery to “remove a dangerous blood clot caused by a severe opiate addiction.”

Carlson explains further in a press release: “Only recently have I really begun to open up about everything that’s happened to me in the last few years. These songs mean a lot to me; anyone in recovery knows that going through an opiate addiction and beating it is a big deal. I am living proof that it can happen to anyone. I’ve always written abstract lyrics that have eluded to my personal struggles, but this time I try to provide context to my metaphors and allegories. In this way, I hope to help other people who are struggling, and anything else that is a result of a corroded society that has left so many people in the dust - especially women. Drugs are such a dude-associated thing, which has made it even harder for me to talk about. I felt gross, other-ed, and alone. I didn’t think anyone would be able to understand or relate. Experiencing severe trauma as a child creates different parameters for normalcy, and inclusion. Statistically, women are more likely to hide addiction and keep feelings inside, making it potentially much more festering and toxic. Drugs affect people of all backgrounds, regardless of race, class or gender. Addiction hits us all, and it hits hard.”

Carlson ended up having a month and a half stay in a hospital in Brooklyn.

“It was very intense,” she admits in the press release. “Had I not had Medicaid I would have been completely fucked. I’ve never had money - I grew up poor - with a single mother in sketchy neighborhoods living paycheck to paycheck - sometimes one never came. We lived in motels and run-down homes until we got kicked out, never staying in the same place for very long. My father died suddenly and unexpectedly when I was a teenager. As a child, I never had financial help and usually held down multiple jobs while still attending school. At the time of my surgery, my income was low enough that I qualified for full coverage of all medical expenses, including a six-week stay in the hospital. My muscles were gone and I had to re-learn how to walk. Even simple tasks made me exhausted, but I have since greatly recovered.”

Since then things have improved. Carlson has moved to Upstate New York with her partner, Guerilla Toss drummer Peter Negroponte, and the press release says she “has never felt more inspired.”

What Would the Odd Do? EP Tracklist:

01 “What Would The Odd Do?”
02 “Plants”
03 “Future Doesn’t Know”
04 “Moth Like Me”
05 “Land Where Money’s Nightmare Lives”

Guerilla Toss Tour Dates:

Sep 07 - Bowery Ballroom - NYC, NY
Sep 10 - Columbus Theatre - Providence, RI
Sep 11 - Tubby’s - Kingston, NY
Sep 12 - The Haunt - Ithaca, NY
Sep 13 - Sugar City - Buffalo, NY
Sep 14 - The Garrison - Toronto, CAN
Sep 15 - Bar Le Ritz PDB - Montreal, CAN
Sep 17 - ArtsRiot - Burlington, VT
Sep 18 - The Press Room - Portsmouth, NH
Sep 19 - SPACE Gallery - Portland, ME
Sep 20 - Brighton Music Hall - Boston, MA
Sep 21 - Dream Picnic 3 - Holyoke, MA
Oct 19 - Hi-Dive - Denver, CO
Oct 22 - Diabolical Records - Salt Lake City, UT
Oct 23 - Neuroloux Lounge - Boise, ID
Oct 24 - Polaris Hall - Portland, OR
Oct 25 - Fortune Sound Club - Vancouver, CAN
Oct 26 - The Vera Project - Seattle, WA
Oct 27 - Sam Bond’s Garage - Eugene, OR
Oct 29 - Outer Space Arcata - Arcata, CA
Oct 30 - The Chapel - San Francisco, CA
Nov 01 - The Crepe Place - Santa Cruz, CA
Nov 02 - Bootleg Theater - Los Angeles, CA
Nov 05 - Rhythm Room - Phoenix, AZ
Nov 07 - Town Hall - ABQ - Albuquerque, NM
Nov 09 - Levitation - Austin, TX
Nov 10 - Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio - Denton, TX
Nov 11 - Opolis - Norman, OK

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