Gaupa’s Fyr is a masterwork of an EP that aims impossibly high and yet achieves a stratospheric stature rare for a short-player. Now, that may seem antithetical that it’s more difficult to craft an EP, given that they tend to be about half as long as their counterparts. Authors face a similar conundrum: can anyone who avidly reads literature claim with a straight face that there are more perfect short stories than there are novels? Of course not, and any argument to the contrary is effectively a denial of an objective truth. Read my full review of Gaupa’s Fyr on Veil of Sound.
Archive for GAUPA
Gaupa’s ‘Fyr’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags GAUPA on 03/03/2026 by Kurt OrzeckThe Bad Penny’s Top 50 Best LPs of 2025, Pt. 3: Keep, Florist, Pharaoh Overlord, Gaupa, Igorrr
Posted in Album Reviews, Lists, Reviews with tags Cosmic Reaper, Florist, GAUPA, Heaven Shall Burn, Igorrr, Keep, Lifeguard, Noir Noir, Pest, Pharaoh Overlord on 12/14/2025 by Kurt OrzeckA lot of fucked-up up shit happened in the U.S. this year. Way, way too much of it. For many of us Americans who actually carry values in our hearts instead of bloviating about them or slapping bumper stickers on our monster trucks, it was almost too much to bear.
Fortunately, 2025 also saw the release of a staggering number of stellar records, which made the year a little more … well, bearable. Hence, for the first time ever, The Bad Penny is deviating from its usual annual tradition of limiting out favorite listens to just 10 and breaking them into a five-part series containing 10 records per installment.
What follows is the third batch. (Go here for The Bad Penny‘s favorite albums, #31 through #40 and here for The Bad Penny‘s favorite albums, #41 through #50.)
Continue readingGaupa’s ‘Fyr’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags GAUPA on 07/11/2025 by Kurt OrzeckFyr, the new EP by superbly skillful Swedes GAUPA, is a downright infuriating listen. Well, to this embarrassed rock critic, at least. How does a band capable of writing and executing a record, even if it is just a short-player, without the slightest blemish, scratch or scuff? Read my review of the EP for Veil of Sound.













