Digging into the best GUM songs means digging into one of psych-rock’s most quietly prolific catalogs, built by a guy who somehow also drums for Tame Impala and plays in Pond. Jay Watson has been releasing music as GUM since 2011, and the sheer consistency of his output — six studio albums and counting, all self-recorded, mostly self-produced — is honestly kind of ridiculous when you sit with it. I’ve spent more late nights than I’d like to admit chasing that particular blend of gooey synth-pop, glam swagger, and bedroom-psych intimacy that only GUM really does. So let’s get into it.
Anesthetized Lesson
This one opens 2015’s Glamorous Damage and it’s the perfect mission statement for what GUM was about to become. The synth line hits with this woozy, almost narcotic swing, and Watson’s vocal sits low in the mix, half-buried under layers of tape hiss and phaser. Kevin Parker even remixed the track later on, which tells you how much the Tame Impala camp respected the songwriting here. On headphones, the stereo panning on the arpeggiated synths is genuinely disorienting in the best way — you feel like you’re being gently pulled sideways.
Elafonissi Blue
Named after a beach in Crete, “Elafonissi Blue” is the song that put GUM on a lot of people’s radar, and it still holds up as maybe his most instantly memorable hook. The production leans hard into that neon, 80s-inspired glam-pop palette — think Gary Numan filtered through a Perth bedroom studio — and the chorus melody just refuses to leave your head. Watson recorded and mixed it himself, and you can hear that DIY intimacy in the slightly imperfect vocal doubling, which somehow makes it warmer rather than sloppier. In the car with the windows down, this track just breathes differently.
Glamorous Damage
The title track from GUM’s second album is where the glam-rock influence gets loudest, all crunchy guitar tones layered against pristine synth pads. There’s a real tension in the arrangement between the grimy and the polished, and that push-pull is what makes the track so replayable. Lyrically, Watson toys with themes of vanity and self-image, which fits the glittery, slightly sardonic tone of the whole record. Live performance energy really suits this one; the guitar solo section opens up into something much rowdier than the studio cut suggests.
Gemini
Lead single from 2016’s Flash in the Pan, “Gemini” was the first song Watson actually recorded for that album, and you can feel that immediacy in how confidently it moves. He’s mentioned in interviews that the track pokes fun at people pinning their lives on star signs and religion, which gives the shimmering, funk-inflected groove a nice layer of wit underneath the melody. The bassline is doing a lot of quiet work here, locking into a pocket that makes the whole thing impossible not to nod along to. Meanwhile, the vocal harmonies stacked in the chorus give it a Prince-adjacent falsetto sweetness that a lot of psych acts never even attempt.
Deep Razz
“Deep Razz” digs into a murkier, more psychedelic corner of Flash in the Pan, with a shimmer guitar part contributed by Pond bandmate Joe Ryan adding extra texture to the mix. The tempo drags just enough to feel hypnotic rather than sluggish, and the vocal melody wanders in a way that rewards close listening on a good pair of headphones — check out our headphone comparison guide if you want to actually catch every layer buried in that mix. It’s less immediate than “Gemini,” but it’s the kind of deep cut that grows on you with repeated spins. On a late-night drive, this is the track that makes the whole album click into place.
Flash in the Pan
The title track and album opener clocks in at under a minute, but it sets a tone that colors everything after it. It’s less a song than a mood-setting overture, all reverb-drenched vocal fragments and a synth motif that reappears throughout the record. Short as it is, it does real structural work, functioning like a curtain-raiser for the funkier, groovier material that follows. It’s a small but deliberate production choice that shows Watson thinking about albums as full listening experiences, not just song collections.
The Underdog
Kicking off 2018’s album of the same name, “The Underdog” bursts out of the speakers with a slinky groove that critics compared to Air crossed with the regal flourishes of Sgt. Pepper’s-era Beatles. There’s a genuinely gorgeous horn solo tucked into the arrangement, a rare moment of live brass in a catalog otherwise dominated by synths and guitars. Watson’s songwriting here is sharper and more melodically direct than on his earlier records, a sign of an artist tightening up his craft album over album. On repeat listens, the title track’s structure reveals more little details — background vocal ad-libs, subtle percussion fills — that get easy to miss on a first pass.
S.I.A.
If you want proof GUM can go straight for the dancefloor, “S.I.A.” is the evidence. The pummelling beat and driving synth stabs give it a hypnotic, warped electronic energy that’s a genuine tonal left turn from the softer psych-pop elsewhere on The Underdog. It’s one of the tracks where Watson’s engineering chops really shine, since the low end hits with a punch that a lot of bedroom productions never quite manage. On the other hand, it still keeps that GUM signature of melodic vocal hooks riding on top of the chaos, so it never tips into pure club-track territory.
Serotonin
“Serotonin” slows the pace right down into chilled, lounge-adjacent psychedelia, and it takes a minute to fully open up — but that patience pays off. The arrangement builds gradually, layering warm keys and hazy backing vocals until the whole thing feels like it’s floating. It’s a mood piece more than a hook-driven single, the kind of track that works best when you’re not actively paying attention to it, letting it drift in the background of a slow afternoon. Watson’s vocal restraint here is notable too; he lets the production do the emotional heavy lifting instead of oversinging it.
After All (From the Sun)
Fans on Bandcamp routinely name this one their favorite off The Underdog, and it’s easy to hear why. The verse melody is genuinely gorgeous, paired with a chiptune-adjacent synth texture before the chorus opens up into huge, cathartic guitars. Thematically, it’s about accepting life as it comes, holding the good and bad together without pretending either one cancels the other out. That emotional honesty, paired with one of Watson’s most soaring vocal performances, makes it a quiet standout in the catalog.
Rehearsed in a Dream
This track leans into a darker, more introspective register, with lyrics about self-doubt and mental fatigue that hit harder than the dreamy instrumental bed might suggest at first listen. The chorus-soaked guitars and haunting backing textures create a real sense of gloom that contrasts against the album’s brighter moments. It’s a slow burn, structurally similar to “Serotonin” in that it takes its time, but the emotional payoff in the back half of the track is worth the patience. In contrast to the punchier singles, this is a headphones-in, lights-off kind of song.
Couldn’t See Past My Ego
Starting with a barebones acoustic guitar and dry, unadorned vocals, “Couldn’t See Past My Ego” plays like a moment of quiet self-reflection before unexpectedly blooming into a hazy chorus full of harmonies and shaker-driven rhythm. That structural pivot — from stripped-down to swirling — is one of the more satisfying arrangement choices anywhere on The Underdog. Watson’s lyricism here is unusually direct for him, dealing plainly with vanity and self-awareness rather than hiding behind abstraction. It’s a short track, but it does more emotional work in under three minutes than some artists manage in five.
The Blue Marble
Closing out the deeper cuts from The Underdog, “The Blue Marble” starts cosmic and spacious before touching down on what one reviewer aptly called a disco dancefloor of your dreams. The production arc across the track is genuinely impressive, moving from ambient synth textures into a groove-heavy back half without ever feeling like two different songs stitched together. It’s a great showcase of Watson’s mixing instincts, balancing wide, echoing space against a tight rhythmic pocket. This is one I’ll throw on in the car specifically for that final stretch, when the groove locks in fully.
Weightless in L.A.
Opening 2020’s Out In the World, “Weightless in L.A.” trades in slow, sedated loops of synth and drums, a deliberate mood-setter for the record’s more meditative, drip-feed approach to psychedelia. It’s not an instant grabber the way some GUM openers are, and that’s clearly the point — this album asked for patience rather than instant gratification. Saxophone parts recorded at Tunafish Recording Studio add a warm, human texture against the electronic backbone, which was a newer move for Watson at the time. Give it space on a quiet evening and it opens up in ways a quick listen just won’t reveal.
Airwalkin’
“Airwalkin'” jolts Out In the World into gear with unexpected, sharp cuts of violin slicing through the mix, a genuinely surprising arrangement choice that critics singled out immediately. Watson trades the slumber of the opener for real swagger here, his vocal delivery carrying the confident air of someone narrating their own story rather than just describing it. The horn and string flourishes throughout give it a maximalist quality that’s a little unusual for GUM, closer to a full-band arrangement than his typically solitary bedroom-pop sound. It’s one of the tracks I’d point to if someone asked why GUM deserves more attention outside the Tame Impala fanbase.
Out In the World
The title track pairs saxophone from Christian Ruggiero with Watson’s own multi-instrumental foundation, and the result is one of the most fully realized songs in his catalog. There’s a sense of grandeur baked into the arrangement that matches the title’s ambition, yet the track never loses that wholesome, small-scale intimacy Watson has said he was chasing. Reviewers picked this one out as an immediate playlist add, and honestly, that’s exactly the reaction it deserves. On a good pair of earbuds during a walk outside, the saxophone line genuinely elevates the whole experience — worth checking our earbud comparisons if you’re chasing the right pair for tracks like this.
Don’t Let It Go Out
Released as the lead single ahead of Out In the World, “Don’t Let It Go Out” tackles our modern compulsion to document and preserve every moment, and the anxiety of eventually losing that record anyway. It’s a genuinely thoughtful lyrical concept wrapped in one of the record’s more accessible, hook-forward arrangements. Watson’s said he finds it harder each year to pin down his own sound stylistically, and this track is a good example of that — synth-pop, psych, and something almost like yacht-rock smoothness all coexisting without friction. It’s a strong entry point if you’re new to the catalog and want something immediately catchy.
Low to Low
Tucked toward the back end of Out In the World, “Low to Low” settles into a slinkier, more understated groove than the album’s flashier tracks. It doesn’t demand your attention the way “Airwalkin'” does, but that restraint is exactly what makes it rewarding on repeat listens — there’s a lot of subtle detail in the mix that only reveals itself once you know the song well. The rhythm section carries a loose, almost garage-style looseness that Watson leaned into more across this record than his earlier, tighter-produced albums. It’s a grower, not a shower, and I mean that as a genuine compliment.
You Make Your Own Luck
Closing out Out In the World, “You Make Your Own Luck” wraps the record with a sense of resolve that feels earned after everything that came before it. The arrangement pulls together threads from across the album — brass accents, garage-style drum loops, dip-dyed psychedelic textures — into a genuinely satisfying send-off. Thematically it lands on something almost optimistic for Watson, which is a nice contrast against the self-doubt explored on earlier GUM records. As album closers go, it’s one of his most effective, letting the record end on forward motion rather than fading out.
Race to the Air
Fast forward to 2023’s Saturnia, and “Race to the Air” opens the record with real momentum, bringing funk elements into the fold in a way that immediately signals a shift from Out In the World‘s more meditative pace. Reviewers gave it near-perfect marks on release, and it’s easy to hear why once the groove locks in around the two-minute mark. Watson recorded this in the years following the birth of his son, and there’s a renewed sense of energy running through it that feels genuinely earned rather than forced. If you’re catching up on the newer side of the catalog after falling for the 2015-2018 records, this is the perfect place to jump back in — and you’ll find plenty more single breakdowns like this one over in our songs archive.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is GUM the musician?
GUM is the solo project of Jay Watson, an Australian multi-instrumentalist best known as a touring member of Tame Impala and a core member of the psych-rock band Pond. He’s been releasing music under the GUM name since 2011, handling most of the writing, recording, and mixing himself.
What is GUM’s best album?
That’s genuinely a matter of taste, but The Underdog (2018) and Glamorous Damage (2015) tend to come up most often as fan favorites, with Saturnia (2023) picking up strong critical praise for its funkier, more mature songwriting.
Is GUM related to Tame Impala?
Yes. Jay Watson has played drums and keys as a touring member of Tame Impala for years, alongside his main role as a founding member of Pond. GUM is his separate solo outlet, distinct from both bands but clearly sharing some of that same psychedelic DNA.
What genre is GUM’s music?
GUM’s catalog moves across psychedelic rock, synth-pop, glam rock, funk, and dream pop, often within the same album. Watson has said his own influences have gotten harder to pin down as his sound has evolved, which tracks with how genre-fluid the music actually sounds.
Where should a new listener start with GUM?
“Elafonissi Blue” and “Don’t Let It Go Out” are both excellent, hook-forward entry points, while “The Underdog” and “Race to the Air” show off his more recent, more confident songwriting if you want to start with the newer material instead.