GUNSHIP is a British Synthwave band primarily composed of the members of Fightstar that also feature a ton of special guests on each of their main studio albums. The band first got its start in 2014 when Fightstar regulars Dan Haigh and Alex Westaway were joined by drummer Alex Gingell and released their first major album in 2015. From there the band has grown exceptionally and evolved quite a bit over the years while mostly retaining their signature sound and very high production values.
While most of their work is fairly fast-paced, fun and energetic they've been known to occasionally slow down a bit for smoother, angstier sounding songs when the mood strikes them. Another thing that they are quite famous for is the incredible attention to detail and amount of imagination they put into their music videos with each one typically having its very own unique feel and style. Expect to see tons of references to 80s culture, some truly fantastic animation and set design and, most of all, some really kickass music!
Discography:
- GUNSHIP (2015)
- Dark All Day (2018)
- Unicorn (2023)
GUNSHIP provides examples of:
- Animated Music Video: About half of their music videos are this and feature quite a diverse array of subject matter and art styles. They have done videos in just about every type of animation there is including CGI
, cel-shaded, pixel art, stop-motion and even freaking claymation! Add in the consistently high quality of each video and the sheer production values it must have taken to make them and it becomes more impressive the more you think about it. - Boom, Headshot!: Happens to a lot of the goons in the "Tech Noir" music video with the resulting bloody gore being particularly emphasized due to the claymation art style.
- Chest Blaster: This turns out to be the special power of the Care Bear transformation in "Tech Noir" which is used by the protagonist to finish off the last of the main villains henchmen.
- Cyberpunk: This classic aesthetic shows up in a lot of their content, from simple shout outs to famous works in the genre to full-blown music videos set in blatantly Cyberpunk worlds.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: The main villain of "Tech Noir" accidentally kills himself when he transforms into Leatherface and attempts to slice up the protagonists right as they make their getaway, resulting in a sawed tree falling on him and crushing his head.
- Letters 2 Numbers: The female half of the protagonist duo in "Art3mis and Parzival" uses a number 3 in place of the e in Artemis.
- Outlaw Couple: The protagonists of the "Taste Like Venom" music video seem to have a bit of a Bonnie and Clyde thing going on with a robbery and a high speed chase during the opening. They are implied to have a much happier ending than most of examples of this trope, however, as they ultimately decide to ditch the money and ride off into the sunset together.
