Fusilier - Ambush (INDIE EXCLUSIVE, "TOUT EST GORE" RED & BLACK VINYL) [Vinyl]

It’s only at the victorious closer “Hello,” a song that serves as summary and introduction, where Fusilier meets us with the prescript of his debut album Ambush: “When it eats me up, don’t be mad ‘cause I’m finally free.” For Fusilier (that’s fyoo·suh·leer), Ambush is his maternal guide to fighting and loving in the shadow of defeat, its title taken from his mother’s maiden name as much as the act of surprise. For the listener, Ambush is a ferocious whirlwind of polyrhythms, cutting lyricism, classical motifs, distorted riffs, and soaring vocals that document a journey for self-love and humanity in the face of indignity and commodification. Throughout, Fusilier triangulates influences of dance music, turn of the century rock, and southern hip-hop to produce a sound that’s as politically urgent as it is singularly fun.

“When I started Ambush I thought it was something I was doing—bombarding the world with a bunch of world-changing songs,” Fusilier laughs.. “The more I thought about it and fleshed it out, the more I realized that it was something being done to me everyday, from seemingly innocent advertisements to full-on macro aggressions.” It’s this fascination with a sense of safety—both real and imagined—that allows Fusilier to create songs that are fortified like a shield.

Ambush is Fusilier’s most collaborative project to date, with many folks contributing to production and performance, including Carlos Hernandez (Carlos Truly), Teeny Lieberson (Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory), and Vishal Nayak (Nick Hakim). While the album was created in “so many places by so many people,” Fusilier credits studio time with Bartees Strange in DC as the catalyst for turning this collection of songs into such a cohesive, potent statement. Ambush puts Fusilier comfortably alongside Yves Tumor, Perfume Genius, and Model/Actriz as a distinctive voice in adventurous pop music.