Gumm give a track-by-track breakdown of new album Beneath the Wheel
Chattanooga, Tennessee’s Gumm made their debut with a set of searing, post-hardcore rippers on 2023’s scorching, 22-minute Slogan Machine. Now, just in time for some Halloween mischief, the band make their return with Beneath the Wheel, via Convulse Records, an album no less blistering but featuring moments of infectious melody, catchy riffs and big choruses amid their roaring anthems. If you’re looking for an absolute ripper today, well, you’ve definitely found one here.
Gumm vocalist Drew Waldon broke down each song on the band’s new album, telling us about how the songs came together, including lyrics that were taken from a poem, whether or not to use piano in a punk song, making “Monster Truck Rock” and more.
Read Waldon’s track-by-track commentary and hear the album in full.
“Beneath The Wheel“: This is one of the first tracks we wrote after putting out the last record Slogan Machine; the music was written for it like 2 years ago and I have been so stoked on it since then. I remember Dylan came to the practice space with the opening riff and I was immediately excited. It just immediately makes me want to side-to-side, and Harrison’s fill at the beginning when the drums come in is just fucking insane. I listened to voice memos of it from practice for months, and finally started piecing lyrics together once we buckled down on starting to form the record. I wanted to write lyrics that made me feel the way riffs do: defiant and celebratory at the same time. Living the life you want to live and finding fulfillment in yourself.
“New From The Pain“: This one was a Trev banger – the skeleton of the song was all laid out by him and then we got in the room together and made some tweaks and adjustments. Dylan overlaying the melodic guitar part in the bridge might be my favorite part, I think it adds a cool dynamic without removing the drive. Also, it’s in and out in under 2 minutes. Love a quick track.
“Flavorless”: I think this was the first song we completed after “Slogan Machine” – I think it was fully written in the early part of 2024, and we played it live for a little while after. I love how much is going on in this song. Guitar-wise I feel like it’s a perfect melding of Trevor and Dylan’s styles and approaches. It’s melodic, it drives, I’m really proud of how it came out in the recording process. Lyrically, I feel like it may be the most hopeful track on the record; I can’t say exactly what I was wrestling with while writing it, but reading it and listening back now, I hear a battle with despair and sadness, and an invitation to join in that battle—to overcome that shit together, or at least be there for one another through it.
“Your Last Joke“: For such a simple song, we kinda got lost in the weeds with this one while writing it. We couldn’t figure out where to take the bridge for a couple of practices, and we wrote an insane bouncy, what I can only describe as “Monster Truck Rock” part that we used as a placeholder for awhile, but no transitions made sense for kicking into that after the laid-back verses and chorus. Finally we got it all to work.
The lyrics are from scraps of an old poem I tried writing several times a few years ago—about a family friend of mine who took his life around Christmas of 2020; after he died I kept having this dream where his family and my family were celebrating Christmas together and he burst through the door. In the dream there was this complex feeling of amazement and relief and deep sadness all wrapped into one, but we were able to welcome him back with open arms, and let him know how loved he was. It was our opportunity to let him know we held no resentment for him for ending his own life. I wish I could have that conversation with him in reality, but this song’s the closest I’ll get. Shoutout Jesse—I love you and miss you, brother.
“One Thing At A Time“: This song is special to me. It’s kind of my mantra at the moment. A meditation in staying present despite the chaos of the world. It’s a constant learning curve—sometimes I’m there and often I’m not. There’s so much happening all the time, but the only effective way to experience life is being present, embodied, facing one thing at a time as it presents itself to you. Should be simple, but it’s not. I wanted to just write the lyrics as a constant, almost meditative repetition, to match the riff. I also take a lot of inspiration from bands like Lungfish and Self Defense Family who employ that style of lyric-writing a lot. So I guess this was my best attempt at that.
“Learn Nothing“: More Dylan-Trevor chemistry coming together here. As far as guitars go, I feel like they split the writing of this one 50/50. This one we spent maybe the most time on in the writing process. It was super collaborative—we all gave a lot to this one. Philip and Harrison gave a lot of direction to Dylan and Trevor’s riffs. I think I re-wrote the lyrics like six times, and a couple more times while in the studio recording it. Finally, I feel like we locked it in.
“Human Web“: This is the oddball on the record, but it’s one of all of our favorites. This one really found its final form in the studio. Tate Mercer, who recorded and mixed the record, provided great feedback and helped shape a lot of these songs, but especially this one. The guitar bendy overdubs in the chorus, the half-time drum part, those were Tate pointing us in the right direction. He also encouraged me to sing, and emphasize melody, throughout the whole song which was pretty scary for me, honestly—I’m still not sure how it’ll be received. But I’m proud of how it turned out. Piano stabs on a hardcore record: I think it works in this case.
“Virtue Delusion“: I had these lyrics looong before we wrote anything else for this record. I think if you listen to Slogan Machine and then listen to this song, you can tell they were written while I was in the same headspace. The music for this one came together very quickly from what I recall. We were playing it on tour for awhile, but haven’t in several months. I’m stoked to start playing it live again now that it’s out and people can listen to it.
“Need“: I think this also had a bouncy Monster Truck part at one point. The first riff, Trevor brought to us and I was immediately stoked. I think it took some other members of the band some convincing, but once we all got our hands on it, it became what I think is maybe my favorite song on the album. Lyrically, it’s simple but very personal. I wrote the lyrics while listening to voice memos of the instrumental song in the span of like ten minutes, at the most. I think thematically it’s a deeper look at the same things I was tackling in One Thing At A Time, each line is a reminder to myself to recenter, to focus on what I need, and not get lost in everything else that’s offered.
“All Gone“: We wrote the music for “All Gone” like two days before we left for Nashville to record, and I didn’t write the lyrics until 2 a.m. the night before our last day of recording. Yet somehow I feel like it came out so strong. Once again, Tate Mercer really helped us get it to where it needed to be. All the added percussion came from “hey let’s try this” last-minute ideas and I’m really happy with how they worked into the song. The speed up and slow-back-down part in the bridge was a little trying, but he was so helpful and patient with that. I feel maybe the most proud of the lyrics on this track than I do any of the others I wrote for the record, despite throwing them together last-minute. I think it’s a strong closer for the record, rounding out a lot of the themes from the rest of the songs. What do I hold? What do I let go? Where does it go when it’s all gone?
