Founded in 2014, Gross Net is the project of Belfast-based
artist Philip Quinn, guitarist of the now defunct Girls Names. A
departure from the techno-driven sound of 2015's Quantitative
Easing, Gross Net Means Gross Net bridges dark electronics,
avant garde experimentation, and black humor.
The album title is based on a remark made by British Prime
Minister Theresa May "Brexit Means Brexit," and Gross Net is
Gross Net is just that - whatever Quinn sanctions the project to
be. What it is is truly unique. Shaken by the political upheavals
in the US and UK in 2016, the refugee crisis, and the
consequences of present-day capitalism, Quinn mined internal
feelings of mental anguish and slowly pieced the album
together starting with acoustic guitar sketches that would
evolve into the carefully crafted compositions that comprise
Gross Net Means Gross Net.
Throughout the album, melodies of rapture and unease duel,
creating a dizzying anxiety ala the minimal electronic doom of
Coil and Bish Bosch-era Scott Walker. The ethereal
"Gentrification" alludes to the orchestral ambience of Popol
Vuh, eventually entering unexpected pop territory with the
arrival of a palpitating beat and Quinn's delicate croon. "Of Late
Capitalism" demonstrates Quinn's range of instrumentation with
combat-ready percussion and ominous textures wielded from
both synths and guitars. The equally gorgeous and unsettling
"Dust to Dust," with its melancholic beauty, builds to a dramatic
conclusion that marks the album's cinematic climax. Conceived
in the void of personal isolation and societal darkness, Gross
Net Means Gross Net is an eerily intimate affair that captivates
with its originality
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