Press Quotes
"they've been amassing a cultish following for their signature sound, which blends Rochelle's Siouxsie-esque vocal melodies with driving percussion and dark riffs that simultaneously recall the Cocteau Twins and look toward "futuristic gypsy tribe shit," as their bio aptly describes." -- Huffington Post
“a period homage that avoids sounding dated thanks to the band’s raw primordial stomp.” -- Pitchfork
"They didn’t skimp on dramatics, with Rochelle’s pleading vocals, Armondo’s spiraling guitar riffs and lyrics that grapple with psychosis and reference Gothic literature and Italo horror flicks. The result achieves a spellbinding emotional intensity that’s easy to inhabit." -- eMusic
"[they] exhibit enough emotional variation to hold a better audience, from a variety standpoint at least, than the majority of the hundreds of EP's that get sent to me each week." -- Earmilk
"...the smart and cynically bleak overtures are accompanied by enough captivating sounds and artistry to ensure a dedicated fan-base come next release. Don't say I didn't warn you." -- Altsounds
"My Gold Mask gets mega sounds and emotion out of two instruments" -- FADER
"...dark-pop purveyors who cut their thick, smoky atmospherics with buoyant rhythms and elevated melody." -- SPIN
"Gretta Rochelle's vocals paired with the bubbly synths and heavy-hitting percussion on "Battles" shows just how versitile the band's sounds have become." -- Noisey
Links
UPCOMING VIA HIDEOUT:
(One of our fav small venues here at ChiIL Live Shows!)
Before we get into this weeks events, if you didn't hear the news yesterday we've released the line-up for the Hideout Block Party / Onion & AV Fest! We've got another fantastic bill with Death Cab for Cutie, The War On Drugs, The Dismemberment Plan, funky METERS, Mac DeMarco, The Handsome Family, Sylvan Esso, Valerie June, Bad Luck Jonathan and Plastic Crimewave Vision Celestial Guitarkestra! Get all of the details here and get your tickets now! Our limited $65 day passes will not last for too long. More bands to be announced as well so stay tuned!
On to this fabulous week!
Saturday, at the crossroads of underground and over the top, zoned in and plugged out, raw and riotous, lives Chicago’s My Gold Mask. The goth pop band’s exotic gypsy spells and murderous garage rock ballads have built a unique wall of sound that some have likened to a metallic symphony. Oshwa and Savage Sister are kicking things off.
At midnight we start dancing, with the venerable Chances Dances throwing a benefit dance party for Chicago Dyke March. The Chicago Dyke March Collective is a grassroots mobilization and celebration of dyke, queer, bisexual, and transgender resilience. Get your dancing shoes on because Chances always knows how to throw down.
Sunday, for the second installment of Get Off the Couch, the singer-songwriter showcase is giving us a headlining set from Miles Nielsen & the Rusted Hearts, Vivian McConnell (of Grandkids & Santah), Daniela Sloan and Sonny Apollo. It was beautiful two weeks ago and we're happy they have landed on their regular first Sunday of every month here at the Hideout.
Monday we are closed.
Tuesday, we welcome back First Tuesdays with Mick & Ben. Come and watch the Chicago Reader writers, Mick Dumke and Ben Joravsky, square off with some of the local movers and shakers in local politics. Tonight they are joined by some of the youngest pols like state rep Christian Mitchell, AFSCME lobbyist Adrienne Alexander and recently elected state rep Will Guzzardi.
Later, we welcome Theatre Oobleck on the first night of the Toosday Night Residency for all of Joon! Tonight they present
One Up, a showcase of short solo work -- spoken, musical, and miscellaneous -- by Oobleck regulars and associates Kristin Basta, Martha Bayne, Emmy Bean (Baudelaire in a Box), Robin Cline, Barrie Cole, Kat McJimsey (Spirits to Enforce, Strauss at Midnight), Heather Riordan (Letter Purloined, Spukt), and Diana Slickman (Spirits to Enforce, Letter Purloined). Featuring new work by
Oobleck ensemble member Mickle Maher (as performed by Kat McJimsey) and most likely an accordion or two. Ronnie Kuller, of Mucca Pazza DJs before and after.
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At the crossroads of underground and over the top, zoned in and plugged out, raw and riotous, lives Chicago’s My Gold Mask. The band’s exotic spells and murderous ballads have built a unique wall of sound that some have likened to a metallic symphony - pretty impressive when you consider My Gold Mask has, until recently, been a duo.
Lead vocalist and percussionist Gretta Rochelle first met guitarist Jack Armondo at a rooftop party; their first words to each other were about music, and ever since the conversation between the two principal songwriters of MGM has stayed there, resulting in two well-received EPs in 2010: A Thousand Voices and A Million Miles (From Where We Were Last) , which had Pitchfork calling them “a band to watch”, as well as a self-titled debut LP and the band’s latest: 2013’s Leave Me Midnight.
Part of My Gold Mask’s success is that they have always been a band of versatility. From the beginning, the duo was synced by Rochelle’s expressive, genre-hopping vocals, and Armondo's reverb-soaked guitar riffs. But that hasn’t stopped the pair from evolving around those core staple elements. In both tone and structure, they’ve managed to transcend their earliest influences into modern atmospheric components from styles and nuances you can’t exactly pinpoint.
When they needed percussion, Rochelle taught herself how to play; when they wanted to fill out the textured nuances of their sound, they commissioned drummer James Andrew (now a full-fledged member of the band). Andrew brings forth both traditional and electronic drums - triggering synth pads and basslines - for much denser arrangements and synthetic layers, that compliment the band’s core songwriting.“My Gold Mask has always been a vehicle for our ever evolving artistic impulses,” says Armondo on the band’s evolution. “From day one we established that the very identity of the band could change at our whims, hence the name”.
“We like to explore those darker feelings that sometimes get left behind in pop music,” adds Rochelle, and the band has successfully found that balance by working on heavy-handed remixes with the likes of The Hood Internet and Crystal Castles’ engineer Alex Zelenka, who re-rendered the band’s biggest single to date, “Violet Eyes.” The song also caught the attention of fashion designer Phillip Lim who used My Gold Mask’s music in his 2010 Fashion Week shows and hosted the band for an in-store performance, which led Vogue to name it one of the “Ten Best Music Shows of Fashion’s Night Out.”
In the summer of 2013, My Gold Mask returned to the forefront with a new Daytrotter session, a first-ever national headlining tour and joined Metric at Red Bull Sound Select’s inaugural concert, building on their roster of supporting acts like Twin Shadow, The New Pornographers, Blonde Redhead, and Waaves.
The year also marked the debut of the band’s song "Some Secrets" on MTV's hit show "Awkward" (previously, "Ghost in Your Bed" and "All Up in the Air" appeared in episodes of "Gossip Girl"). Following suit, the enchanting number “Never Go Home” will air on Syfy’s hit supernatural show, “Being Human,” in January 2014.
In 2014, the trio continues to create new material, having just released digital-only singles of “Dangerous” followed by “Severed,” the hauntingly beautiful ballad Spin.com premiered saying the band is “already looking to push their sound further.” With the latest release of the bouncy synth hit, “Battles”, which premiered on Noisey, and remix by electro Goth artist Mr. Kitty, MGM is proving them right.
Look for the anthemic dance-rock single, “Dissipate”, produced by Sanford Parker, (producer, recording engineer, and musician at Corrections House), to be released in late May.
For a band that started with a nylon string guitar, simple drums and the frontwoman of A Thousand Voices (“Gretta could have been a voiceover talent,” admits Armondo) to a now fully-realized trio with new releases already in the works for this year, My Gold Mask is edging for the spotlight they’ve been waiting for. But perhaps music magazine Pretty Much Amazing summed it up best in their review, saying the band “infuses some heart into the mundane and makes it beautiful.”
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