West Auckland based artist Gush Puppets kicks his way into 2021 with a funky new wave beat. The 18 year old’s latest single ‘PUPPET AND THE PLACEHOLDER’ continues to build upon the indie, rock, and hip hop inspirations that formed inspired previous singles ‘Ramona’ (2020) and ‘Atari Teen Wannabe’ (2019).
Gush Puppets embodies the teenage angst that we might imagine being trapped in our parents’ suburban garage would grant us, except he actually makes mad bangers whilst the rest of us just yell and kick spades. ‘PUPPET AND THE PLACEHOLDER’ encompasses the all too familiar emotion of when we form a grandiose image of someone we’ve just met, ignoring all the red flags and warning signs. With an upbeat intro, Gush Puppets takes us on a journey of adoration, blissful ignorance and the pursual of that perfect person in our minds. In many ways the song transports us to that euphoric state of someone who could never hurt us nor do no wrong. Despite Gush Puppets’ warnings of a “dangerous temptress”, it’s hard to extract ourselves from this romanticised lover and to (ahem) face the music. Everytime I finish listening to ‘PUPPET AND THE PLACEHOLDER’, I find myself snapping out of a dream-like state or waking up from some comforting yet falsified hallucination and I suppose sometimes it’s nice to be transported away like that. And then, I’m hit with another reality… Gush Puppets created this rich, mental wonderland at the age of just 18. Tune in to 95bfm this Friday at 10:30am if you want to fall down the rabbit hole.
