All-around Breakdown: Drew Scott Breaks Down Bedroom/"Basement" Pop Debut As Giddeon Gallows - CRITTER (ILL VESSEL MUSIC)

"Navel gazing in my basement for a decade plus / I f**kin' lied when I said it wouldn't take long / Hope you got all day maybe two / It's work, it's hard work / It took two weeks to climb down this hole," Drew Scott sings on "Avoidant" from his debut as Giddeon Gallows, CRITTER. I've been hearing about Scott's Giddeon Gallows side-project for about 6-8 months and now, it's finally out in the world and I'm able to write about it; to my ear, it sounds something like a stylistic mix of Kanye's "Auto-Tune album" 808's & Heartbreak, The Postal Service's Give Up, and early TV On The Radio à la Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes. "Giddeon Gallows is basically, just a pen name, it's not an alter-ego or anything. I have a deep appreciation for Pop music, not in a mainstream sense, but more as a vehicle," Drew Scott wrote, via email, describing CRITTER. "While I was finishing ILL VESSEL, I was experimenting with Auto-Tune, feedback, and delay on my vocals as an "instrument," while using these beats that I didn't want to necessarily, rap on," he continued.

While it's been half-joking referred to as his "singer/song-writer" debut, Scott admits, he can't play guitar... so, Giddeon Gallows' CRITTER is just him, an SP-404SX, and a vocal effects pedal. Although, it's technically, been touted as a Bedroom Pop/Chillwave/R&B-minded album, Drew Scott affectionately calls it "Basement Pop;" he's been recording and largely, self-producing his own music starting with BLACKSAGE's SIXTAPE (2014) with Josephine Olivia in his basement studio; since SIXTAPE, such projects as Luvadocious with Al Rogers, Jr. Pale Spring EP's 1-2, Vans_Westly's QUILLS, Warmest Regards (BLACKSAGE & Owen Ross,) as well as all of his solo efforts, have been recorded in Drewcifer's Basement, Baltimore, MD. "There's a vulnerability involved when you can feel the cobwebs, the chill in the room, the creaking floor above. When recording, I like to keep the "less desirable" take, if it works and conveys a certain emotion," Drew Scott further detailed. Giddeon Gallows' CRITTER is currently available to stream or download on Apple Music, Bandcamp, Soundcloud, Spotify, and like-minded digital retails. Below, you'll see a rather in-depth track-by-track CRITTER breakdown penned by Drew Scott himself exclusively for The Witzard.

1. "Perpetually" [-feat. Owen Ross]

"This beat is a couple years old and I nearly forgot about it, but I did it in one take, after strewing together some random notes I had typed in my phone. Bounced the acapella, ran the vocals through my [SP-404SX] and recorded that glitchy stuff live, as I recorded. It's a song about fear, but it has an optimism to it. I think, it's about severing ties with toxic elements in your life. Whether that's a person or the constant f**ery that the world operates on or all the above. Owen Ross really gave the ending atmosphere and momentum."

2. "Foxglove"

"This song is many things, kind of like a stream of consciousness dream sequence; by the end, I'm wishing I never woke up buried in all this feedback. The opening line is an apology to my partner for the way the world makes women feel and it spirals from there."

3. "Avoidant"

"Some days, just leaving the house is hard work. It's an ode to anxiety and I like juxtaposition, so I made it laid-back and vibey."

4. "Forbid (Further)" [-feat. Al Rogers, Jr.]

"This is about self-sabotage. I like to blame my lack of happiness on outside elements, but usually, it's a self-made coffin I've built myself. Al comes through with some spirituality and brightness. "Tread lightly, pack lighter" is some advice an old man once gave me. Made this beat on my episode of FLIPS."

5. "Cell Division"

"This may have been the first track I did; the chorus was meant to be this repetitive thing I say to myself. How many times have I said, "this is the last time you do this sh*t to me..." ? Splitting cells is a nice thought, but easier said than done."

6. "Static" [-feat. Pale Spring]

"I really love this track. It's like a ballad, but such a bummer. I think, in relationships, we tend to end up in the same place over and over, like static. Eventually, you get through it or you don't, but you know when you're in the sh*t. The verses are pretty much responses to one another. * Sidenote: Pale Spring should, technically, be Executive Producer of this album; from background vocals to actually, pushing me to sing more, she was a huge influence."

7. "Shoreline" [-feat. Infinity Knives]

"It's about drowning. I grew up near the beach and almost drowned a couple times in my life, so I know the feeling well. It's also, about how a town or city becomes small, after a while, no matter where you are. Infinity Knives is really a brilliant musician and knew exactly the mood to bring out, in the end, with that guitar part: nightmarish and frantic."

8. "Critter" [-feat. 83cutlass / co-prod. Jumbled]

"I asked for some "sad-a$$ beats" and Jumbled sent me the first half of this. I kind of just freestyled it. I thought back to all the times I would just wander around manically in the night in a drunken haze feeling less than human. I made the second part of the beat and 83's voice just made sense in my head and I knew he’d be perfect."

9. "Foggy"

"Recorded this with my sh**ty scratch mic in a real dark moment on-the-spot and I just kept it the way it was."

10. "Cell Division (Reprise)"

"I like to put reprises on albums as a sort of "bookend." Plus, I tend to make a few versions of a beat. I guess, this one's about acceptance, reckoning with yourself about all the mistakes you’ve made, and all the pitfalls we succumb to. "This is the last time..." plays in reverse thoughout."