North London’s Gold Baby contacted us after seeing our review of flirting.’s recent RP and we were so delighted when we had the chance to listen to their new song, ‘Maggots’.
Flitting somewhere between the grungey nature of Joanna Gruesome and the charm of early Maccabees indie-pop, the song finds the four-piece giving an honest account of the fear of being eaten alive by your own expectations – and how it can all sometimes be too much: ‘You feel like you miss the deadline for everything’; ‘you went too far’; ‘you’re not a woman’ being just a few examples of the honest lyrics that capture the essence of this anxiety. The oft-repeated title of: ‘And now you’re covered in maggots’ may be at odds with the earworm hooks on show but adds extra intrigue.
‘Maggots’ will be released on 5 December and Gold Baby will be playing a launch show at the Waiting Room in London (N16) on the same day to celebrate.
We had the chance to ask the band about the bands they’re loving right now and the songs that have influenced their sound.
DIGS
Bill Withers – ‘Use Me’
Andrew – Because it’s quite possibly the dirtiest riff I’ve ever heard. I don’t know what kind of synth or keyboard it is, but I want to live in there.
Stereolab – ‘Brakhage’
Ian – I’m listening to a lot of stereolab at the minute. Mainly because it’s good for sleeping on trains to.
Alice Coltrane – ‘Turiya & Ramakrishna’
Sam – recently heard this Alice Coltrane tune on an episode of Atlanta. Been digging through her back catalog lately. I like the combination of eastern spiritual music and western jazz. Can’t say it’s influenced my music too much yet though.. I haven’t bought a sitar yet.
Speedy Ortiz – ‘You Hate The Title’
Siân – I’ve been going on about these guys non-stop since seeing them a few weeks ago. I loved them before but I’ve dug into my obsession a little harder since seeing them live. I think the song arrangements are really interesting and I love Sadie’s playing style. And I love that the songs have more depth the more you listen, you get a little more out of it each time.
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks – ‘Do Not Feed The Oyster’
Siân – I thought I’d pick one I think we a few of us ‘dig’ for the last one. Sam, Ian and I, who went to see The Jicks recently and loved it. I reckon we all might love it for different reasons – for me it’s the easiness he oozes on stage, it’s infectious how much fun he seems to have just fucking around with his songs. Sam and I are both hugely inspired by Stephen Malkmus’s lyrics and songwriting style.
INFLUENCES
Fiona Apple – ‘Paper Bag‘
Siân – Fiona Apple is without a doubt the biggest influence on my lyric writing, and possibly performance style. I love how effortlessly she captures complex emotions and helps you understand them, how she is able to put them into words in a way that challenges you or teaches you, or validates you. I love how her poetry informs the music that sits around it and her emotive vocal delivery. I love her.
Wild Beasts – ‘This is Our Lot’
Ian – Easily the most under-rated drummer in history, and one of the most unique I’ve ever encountered. Chris Talbot completely changed the way I approach drums by showing that sitting cross armed tapping out 8th notes on a hihat and dropping snares on the 2/4 should never be your first port of call.
After hearing Limbo, Panto for the first time, my vocabulary instantly doubled and I immediately stopped grooving on the hats and switched to an open stance, covering mainly the Toms. The track I’ve chosen is actually from their 2nd album, but I believe it best sums up his mad style, which is even more freakish when you see him live as most of the percussion is being generated by him manually and aren’t pre-programmed samples and triggers.
Pavement – ‘Starlings of the Slipstream’
Sam – His lyric writing makes me laugh but it’s also weird stream of consciousness over a cracking pop tune
The Beatles – ‘Come Together’
Andrew – Listening to that album massively effected me as a teenager and I went out and bought my first guitar right after. And it’s got an amazing bass line even though it’s dead simple.
Joan Armatrading – ‘Love and Affection’
Siân – Thought I’d include this one, because as well as Joan Armatrading being a huge influence over my songwriting over the years, this one has a link to our upcoming single Maggots. The tracks sound nothing alike but there’s a jazzy little chord progression in the pre-chorus that I was inspired by, and appropriated for the tune – I can’t remember if it was intentional or not, but I know that’s where it came from.