GB – Starsound
GB is Gustav Berntsen, a Copenhagen artist who recorded his debut “Gusse Music” for Posh Isolation in 2024 and has since signed to AD 93. We covered Adrenaline (W19) when it arrived in May as the first single from his second album “Herzsprung”, due August 21.
“Starsound” is the second single, and it’s a deliberate change of register. Where “Adrenaline” moved with fretless bass, zigzagging guitar and rolling percussion, this one leans into something deliberately unhurried. Two contrasting guitar sounds form the core, acoustic drums provide structure underneath, and Berntsen’s vocals sit breezily on top. Then the vocals drop away and the track runs out instrumentally for a substantial stretch, the arrangement opening up until the piece starts to feel like something ambient rather than song-shaped. The soft rock reference point in some press copy is accurate: this is guitar-forward and warm without being ornate.
“Herzsprung” was written in London, with Berntsen cutting up copies of the free daily newspaper Metro to build its lyrical foundation, then recorded largely live to 24-track tape over a week in a studio in the Swedish wilderness. It’s a record with an unusual backstory, and “Starsound” suggests it has an equally unusual range.
