Richmond alternative rockers Gold Connections follow up on last fall’s Ammunition EP with a brand new song, “Confession,” which drops today and is sure to get your weekend moving.
Today, Richmond’s Gold Connections are releasing a brand new single, “Confession,” which features Will Evans of Charlottesville’s Stray Fossa, on hi-hat and toms. If you’re out on the road and play this track, you might agree with another local listener’s response: “Nothing wrong with any song that makes you want to get out and move.” Spacey and distinctive indie pop dominates on this meditative love song. Frontman Will Marsh’s lyrics transition from experiencing guilt to connecting with the universe as the music engages in a scattering rhythmic buildup.
As influences, the band cites postpunk as a genre, and specifically the sounds of Nick Cave and LCD Soundsystem. My tip: listen for the acoustic guitar picking after the intro. I have a favorite memory of a Will Marsh solo acoustic performance in a high-ceilinged 18th century dining hall made of stone walls and plaster. Late afternoon sun lit the three-foot deep window alcoves above my head, and Marsh’s guitar picking slowly built upon the echoes of itself until the air was completely full of music! Listening to “Confession” brings me back to that memory now.
In this intriguing song, guitar is drawn forth along an electric Western-outlaw melody line and absorbed into brassy synth-pop rhythms that take me back to The Naked And Famous. I enjoy a mirage-waves effect of the electric meeting rhythm. A technique mastered so effortlessly by Tame Impala, for example, the strange, transporting effect has a digital quality on this track that does sound like LCD Soundsystem’s, uh, sound system. But the addition of Marsh’s warm, alto vocal tones takes us almost to the doorstep of The National (the band, not the venue).
Music can try to mimic the reverberations of a closed room to create a feeling of overcoming, rising up, and midway through this vulnerable song, Gold Connections create exactly that mood, as vocal distortions disrupt and suppress the music. Listening becomes a momentarily frustrating experience, and I’m not entirely sure whether the end of the song recovers or finds redemption. On the whole, though, Gold Connections stands out for their expression of warmth and devotion. They have a knack for simplicity.
“Confession” is out today, and you can hear it for yourself on Gold Connections’ digital platforms: their website and Bandcamp page. Happy listening!
Photo by Phineas Alexander
