goste is the recording name of Owen Ross, a musician and producer from Brooklyn. He’s previously released a few well-received EPs, and after touring the US and Europe, he’s back with his third, Eugene. goste sounds like the delivery and writing style of Tom Waits filtered through an electronic backing and modern experimental production. The experimental side is quite clearly evident, as he loves teasing you with commercial tropes only for them to evaporate in your grasp. The opener, “Volcanoes (Slow Fade),” first appears as if it’s building up to a grand, inspiring anthem that is all too popular today, before the floor completely gives out from underneath and the song is left in tatters, forced to slowly build itself once again but never reaching the expected end.
That’s the thing about goste. It’s not that much of a stretch for one to imagine these all being commercial pop songs, but they’ve all been tortured, hung up, stretched on the rack, and transmogrified into an overwhelming new monster by Ross in a way that’s borderline genius. Even when guitar is the most prevalent instrument, as in a song like “Won’t Be Long” that could be a traditional folk ballad, they’re transformed in such a way that it merely sounds like an electronic album using wooden instruments. Eugene is a fantastically original release from just as unique of a performer.
