There’s a chance it might just be one of the year’s best records, and after months of waiting, Goldminds officially release their debut album, Signals, this week.
The Melbourne outfit have been on the scene for a while now, dishing out some of the wildest and most intense experiences you’ll find anywhere, packed full of blistering compositions which take influence from the ’70s punk era. While it would be easy to draw comparisons between bands which Goldminds take influence from, it would do them a disservice to minimise the purely unique sound they’ve created since their formation.
Since bursting onto the scene with ‘Anxiety’, Goldminds have proven themselves as one of the most intense and exciting bands on the scene, even with only a few shows to their name. After months of singles in the lead-up to their debut record, this Friday sees the outfit unleash the blistering album that is Signals.
Recorded at St Kilda’s Hothouse Studios with Jez Giddings, and produced by the acclaimed Michael Badger, Signals is a collection of explosive tracks which showcase a band doing their best and exceeding even their own expectations as they turn out one of the year’s best releases.
To celebrate its impending release, Goldminds have been lucky enough to give us a first listen of the new record, which you can find below. But before you immerse yourself in the furious majesty that is Signals, let the band give you a bit of an insight into the journey which has not only lead to the release of this new record, but resulted in the formation of one of the best Aussie groups you need to know right now.
Check out ‘Deadwood’ by Goldminds:
“Goldminds has been a wild ride since the get go,” recalls drummer/percussionist Nic Symons. “I came to the party late. The rest of the guys had been looking for a drummer to complete their line-up for quite a while. I was a big fan of their old group, so I was looking forward to jamming when I got the call from Brendan about putting a new project together.
“After a couple of months of arranging and writing songs we had our debut gig at Lulie St Tavern. I remember the four of us looking around after finishing the first song; ‘I think this is gonna work.’ Sometimes it’s hard to know with music because it has such an ethereal nature and every musician has their own unique sugar and spice to add to the sauce. Sometimes that sauce can taste like shit… Luckily ours turned out to be quite delectable. That first show was a hot, sweaty, beer covered hoedown. The people of Lulie’s were digging it but most importantly WE were digging it.
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“Everything happened super quick from there. A few months later we were in the studio. We had an amazing engineer Jez Giddings who knew Hot House Studios like the back of his hand. Along with Michael Badger, our good friend and producer, they pulled a mammoth sound and we were off and racing. That was a whirlwind three days.
“We managed to pull nine songs together in that time and couldn’t believe the results. The songs really came to life in the studio and when we took them back to the stage, they felt stronger than ever before. We became a BAND whilst recording Signals.”
“Unfortunately, we only had the chance to play three shows this year before ‘name we shall not mention’ happened. The shows were really starting to rev up. We played our last show at Cherry Bar, 2am on a Sunday morning. It was fantastic. We were really locked in and performing our hearts out. We couldn’t believe the response. It gave us a lot of hope and anticipation for the year we had planned ahead.
“We had to obviously re-evaluate what the year looked like for our shiny new band but sometimes you have to roll with the punches. We cannot wait to get back out there and play some shows in support of the album. People haven’t heard the last of Goldminds.”
Check out ‘The Spirit Knows’ by Goldminds:
“I loved the experience of recording Signals. We only spent three days in the studio at Hot House recording with Jez and Badger, but it was just full on the whole time,” explains guitarist Brendan West. “We knew we had to get a lot done in that short timeframe, so we knuckled down and gave it everything we had.
“In a way I think the time constraint helped create a rawness on the record. We really only had time for 3 or 4 takes for each track so we tried to not be too concerned with hitting all the notes perfectly but instead prioritised capturing the vibe of us just having a ball.”
“I really enjoy the meaning that both writing and performing gives me; they provide the perfect balance for feeding my introvert and extrovert,” adds vocalist Courtney Constantinou. “I love the simplicity of sitting alone in a nicely lit room with my guitar, pen and writing book open to whatever wants to come out.
“And I also love the total buzz of getting dressed up for a show, jumping onto the stage, the rush of singing that opening song and letting my freak flag fly. Both are places of ritual and exploration, there’s always something to discover and that’s what draws me in, keeps me curious!”
Goldminds’ Signals will be released on October 2nd, with pre-orders available now.
Check out Signals by Goldminds:
