Ganser over with "Animal Hospital" to play Vera, Groningen

Ganser return with Animal Hospital, a record shaped over an unusually long arc of time. Written primarily between 2020 and 2025—with one demo reaching back as far as 2001—the album feels both restless and deeply considered. It captures the Chicago band’s distinctive balance of jagged post-punk, surreal humor, and emotional tension, where apparent detachment often conceals a core of urgency and care. As Hanif Abdurraqib has observed, Ganser’s joyful apathy is never empty, but charged with meaning beneath the surface.

The Chicago art-rock group first gained widespread attention with their acclaimed 2020 album Just Look at That Sky, which landed on year-end lists from outlets including Rolling Stone, Vice, and Paste. During the pandemic, Ganser stayed creatively active through remote collaborations with artists such as Andy Bell (Oasis, Ride), Sad13 (Speedy Ortiz), Adam Faulkner (Gilla Band), and Bartees Strange, building anticipation for a return to the raw physicality of live sound.

With Animal Hospital, Ganser deepen the trajectory set by their Angus Andrew–produced EP Nothing You Do Matters, praised by Pitchfork for its sophistication and ambition. Andrew once again co-produces the record alongside the band, with recording split between Jamdek Studios and Electrical Audio. The result is a record that is taut, textural, and unafraid to sit with contradiction—music that sounds confrontational while remaining oddly intimate.

Ganser are Alicia Gaines (bass, vocals), Brian Cundiff (drums), and Sophie Sputnik (keys, vocals) and the band will be playing Groningen in May:
13/05: Groningen, NL - Vera