![]() ![]() All of the gimmicks and surprises that Gish brings are held together because she’s a ridiculously adept songwriter. It’s one of those works that rewards multiple rounds of listening - there’s always another reference you missed, or a guitar riff or vocal harmony layered deeper - and feels fresh every time. Yet beyond all of the conceptual levels to Gish’s music, it’s important to note that “No Dogs Allowed” is a fun and imminently listenable album. Yet even the more somber songs here aren’t entirely serious - “Mouth Log,” which reflects on solitude and loneliness, also contains references to the Barefoot Contessa and Japanese hikikomori. There are too many songs that so precisely examine the anxieties of the modern condition for that to be entirely true. ![]() Gish is funny, sure - there’s a grisly line on “Good Magicians” about killing a certain rabbit mascot for a certain fruity cereal brand that gets me every time - but “No Dogs Allowed” isn’t a comedy album, really. What that voice is exactly is hard to pin down, which is kind of the point. It’s an album where the disco-pastiché “Not but for You, Bunny” can be sandwiched in between the somber “Rat of the City” and the wistful “Persephone” and feel like it belongs - the songs are linked by Gish’s distinctive, singular voice. While it’s easy to pigeonhole Gish’s music as one thing or the other- singer-songwriter, bedroom pop, anti-folk - the songs on “No Dogs Allowed” span a wide range of styles without losing her essential spark. It’s perhaps a harder formula to pull off - the layering of different instruments and guitar parts on the most complex songs on “No Dogs Allowed” is deep for any album, let alone a self-released Bandcamp project - but Gish’s approach, and the solitude used to get to it, is worth it, not least because of how genuinely unexpected the album sounds. While there’s a long lineage of modern indie rock auteurs who recorded key early works by themselves in their bedrooms, from Ariel Pink and Bon Iver to Jay Som and Frankie Cosmos, Gish’s music tends not towards the hazy, spare vibes of her bedroom pop forbearers and contemporaries but towards extreme specificity and precision. Gish wrote, sang, mixed and performed all of the album’s tracks by herself, and the attention to detail required to create as meticulous a work as what she brings here is evident. That’s not to say that it sounds cold or uninviting - quite the opposite, in fact - but merely a reflection of the circumstances through which it was produced. I will be happy to answer any and all questions about how to solve this year’s puzzles (or just Gish puzzles in general), or help you find specific information about items from past hunts, but will not be doing so until August 8.“No Dogs Allowed” is a lonely album. However, collaboration with any of the following is strongly encouraged: imaginary friends, teammates and their respective imaginary friends, enthusiastic pets (but not their imaginary friends). If we find out that teams are collaborating you will get either fractional or no credit for the item. Each team has to execute each item on their own. As cold-hearted as this sounds, don’t collaborate with other teams unless the Item is designated as a Collaborative Item. As I am competing in this year’s hunt, I will not be answering asks directly related to any of this year’s items until after the hunt is over- to do so would violate commandment 52:ĥ2. One quick announcement, though: I’ve received a couple messages asking for help with solving Gish puzzles and item 111 today. ![]() I’m seeing a lot of new activity due to being linked in item 111 on this year’s list, and I hope all you new faces will continue to find this page useful in the future! Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Gish Historian! ![]()
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