Gold Star releasing 'Uppers and Downers,' touring (stream "Baby Face")
LA-via-Austria musician Marlon Rabenreither used to lead The Sister Ruby Band under the pseudonym Johnny Ruby, before starting to make music as Gold Star, and he’s set to release his third Gold Star album, Uppers and Downers, on September 7 via Autumn Tone Records (pre-order). He recorded the album at LA’s historic Valentine Studios (where The Beach Boys, Frank Zappa, and others recorded) with producer Nicolas Jodoin, who also worked on Gold Star’s 2012 debut. The album features Tame Impala and Arctic Monkeys collaborator Cameron Avery (on “This Is The Year”), Black Lips members Cole Alexander and Zumi Rosow (on “Chinatown”), and others. We’re premiering the song “Baby Face,” which Marlon made with current White Fence (and former Thee Oh Sees) drummer Nick Murray, and The Last Shadow Puppets/Mini Mansions bassist Zach Dawes. Here’s what Marlon tells us about it:
“Baby Face” began by stacking two different drum loops on top of each other, after that I started messing around with adding Wurlitzer and the idea for the song started coming together. Once we started cutting the track in the studio, we had Nick Murray (The Growlers, White Fence, Thee Oh Sees) attempt to replicate these samples onto tape. The strings are from a Mellotron, like the samples used on “Strawberry Fields Forever.” The track also features contributions from Zach Dawes (Last Shadow Puppets, Mini Mansions).
The song has a very ’70s singer/songwriter pop rock vibe, or for a more modern comparison, fans of Foxygen or Whitney or Father John Misty may want to take note. Listen, along with two other tracks from the LP, below.
Gold Star also has upcoming shows, including one in San Francisco this month with his longtime pal (and frequent tourmate) Phoebe Bridgers, and one in Brooklyn on October 24 at Baby’s All Right (tickets). He also has upcoming UK/EU dates, including Pitchfork Avant-Garde in Paris. All dates are listed below.
Gold Star — 2018 Tour Dates
7/18 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall (w/Phoebe Bridgers)
8/05 – County Waterford, IE @ All Together Now Festival
9/13 – Los Angeles, CA @ Highland Park Ebell (Record release show)
10/24 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right
10/29 – London, UK @ The Waiting Room
10/31 – Paris, FR @ Pitchfork Avant-Garde
11/1 – Nijmegen, Netherlands @ Merelyn
11/2 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Melkweg
11/3 – Groningen, Netherlands @ Take Root Festival
11/4 – Heerlen, Netherlands @ Southern Roots Festival
