Gold Connections

“Icarus” is a seven-and-a-half minute haze that integrates distorted, detuned guitars with a slacker sound that develops into a punk-infused rendition basking in colourful psychedelia.

The first three minutes are a refreshing trip down memory lane where guitars ring with Stephen Malkmus’ Pavement sound, Old-school rock vocals from frontman Will Marsh enter the fray; vocals that are satisfyingly shaky towards the end of each sentence.

Starting off soft, “Icarus” soon develops into a chaotic crash of persistent percussion, with heaps of cymbal smashing that integrate a haze of layered guitars, emitting psychedelic gold and twinkles of shouty punk.

Stream Gold Connections’ new track “Icarus “ and find their North American tour dates below. - Line of Best Fit

Gold Connections is Charlottesville-based musician Will Marsh, a new Fat Possum signee with a self-titled EP on the way this spring. The record was actually recorded back in 2014 when Marsh was an undergrad at William & Mary, with help from Marsh’s classmate: Car Seat Headrest mastermind Will Toledo, who produced, engineered, and mixed it in addition to contributing drums, electric guitar, bass, and backing vocals. Marsh briefly played guitar in Car Seat Headrest, and Toledo spent time drumming for Gold Connections. Their history with each other runs deep; in an excerpt below, Toledo cites Marsh’s influence on his own music. But “New Religion,” the Gold Connections track we’re premiering today, is an animal of its own. Languid atmospherics give birth to howlingly aggressive rock ‘n’ roll that ultimately builds to a richly arranged climax. Here’s Marsh with some background on the track:

“New Religion” was written one dirty afternoon in in a cramped off-campus apartment. I was reacting to anxiety and melancholy by melding images which characterize that psychological space. It’s a unique song in that I channel the nonsense stream in my head with very little filter. I usually have a vague narrative in mind when I begin writing, yet here I can only look back to assemble the story. “New Religion” joins my repertoire in spirit rather than form — as the ecstatic affirmation of a broken situation.
Hear the song below, then stick around for some quotes from Toledo and Marsh.



This is Toledo writing about his history with Gold Connections and their influence on his instant-classic Teens Of Denial:

When Will Marsh strolled into his first WCWM meeting with his solo EP tucked under his sleeve, like I had done the year before, I knew I’d found a worthy competitor. I asked him to play guitar in Car Seat Headrest. He deigned to for a time, then told me to eat a peach, and formed Gold Connections instead. I walked in on their first practice and started playing drums. He told me I could play with them at the show, then stole Car Seat Headrest’s drummer, who moved away, so I came back and drummed with them again. I also recorded an album for them. I thought it was good but Will didn’t like it, so I started working on songs with rock riffs like Gold Connections did that I could play on my own, and eventually put them on my album Teens Of Denial. Two years later, I phoned his manager and pleaded for Will to release the master tapes to the college album. Instead he suggested I remix the best tracks for a debut Gold Connections EP, so I did. This time he liked them, I think.
And this is Marsh with his own take on the EP:

I was that kid with the EP in hand. My slick studio exposé in folk rock was placed on A-list rotation, chafing against the newest lo-fi relic by sophomore Will Toledo. I met him weeks later at a show. My solo act was harmonica and acoustic guitar, troubled fingerpicking, original tunes and Dylan covers. Then a rock band hauled their gear on stage. That night they asked me to play rhythm guitar for one show, and I agreed to go electric. What they pitched as a “collective” was actually Car Seat Headrest. I had been duped. Will and I soon recognized that I was both too wild for rhythm guitar — judging by the icy side-glances on stage — and equally stubborn as a songwriter. I had to take my newfound ruckus somewhere else, so I formed Gold Connections. I don’t remember stealing a drummer…at least none with any strong allegiance to Car Seat Headrest. When he left town I handed Will the sticks. But he didn’t just drum: Toledo was determined to produce the project. Why settle for your own campus band when you could rule all two? We tracked during finals in my moldy basement, and by mid-summer Will proclaimed the mixes ready for public consumption. Yet take note of the complications. I wanted to sound more like the Stones than Guided By Voices. My new drummer who wished to play so bad moved to Seattle. I had a taste of the peach. Going into my last fall semester, William and Mary’s library was far more promising than its rock scene. A year later, when I graduated and fell out of the academic illusion, I got back to my first dream. And yes, I dig the new mixes! Are you happy now, Will? - Stereogum

Who is it?

Virginia band GOLD CONNECTIONS, the baby of guitarist and vocalist Will Marsh. Marsh is a college friend of CAR SEAT HEADREST‘s Will Toledo, and both spent time rolling in and out of each other’s bands before both projects grew into CAR SEAT HEADREST and this one. GOLD CONNECTIONS have a debut EP on the way, written back in 2014 and freshly produced and mixed by Toledo.

Why should you listen to it?

The lead single off that EP is New Religion, a sprawling rock song that starts softly before building up in waves and waves into a crashing, powerful beast. Marsh says the song ‘was written one dirty afternoon in a cramped off-campus apartment. I was reacting to anxiety and melancholy by melding images which characterise that psychological space’. Marsh wraps that anxiety and melancholy up in fuzz and spits it out into the world. Even on first listen, it feels like a classic that’s been around, or should have been around, all your life.

What’s next?

GOLD CONNECTIONS‘ self titled debut EP is out on Fat Possum on March 31st, with a debut full-length due later in the year. - Nothing But Hope and Passion

The year before Car Seat Headrest relocated to Seattle and made the leap from hometown hero to international acclaim, frontman Will Toledo produced a collection of five intricate tracks for another band: Gold Connections. The project of songwriter Will Marsh, Gold Connections is something like the Silver Jews to Car Seat’s Pavement: rich and wandering, hazy and pensive with the sort of thoughtful lyrics and explosive choruses we’ve come to expect from a Toledo production. Recorded in the basement of a DIY venue near Virginia’s College of William & Mary, the band’s newest single “Faith in Anyone,” off their forthcoming self-titled EP, is a stoned spiritual that builds to ambitious new heights.

Against a steady bassline and the buzz of dusty guitars, Marsh writes of suburban resignation, of lingering pains, and the summers between semesters that once seemed without end. “I know, I know, we will never grow old,” he sings. “I could never lose faith in anyone, but there you go.” - SPIN

Even without checking production credits, the imprint that Car Seat Headrest and lead singer Will Toledo has on Gold Connections is unmistakable.

In the indie-rock group’s second single, “Faith in Anyone,” band leader Will Marsh sings in a resigned but not retired voice about knowingly being worlds apart from someone else. He seems totally at ease with the idea as he’s ensconced by snaking guitar lines and only notional drumming. Each chorus is a hard break from the distanced verses and raises the emotional stakes, but still Marsh doesn’t seem to be overcome by the fierce urgency of now. In that way, the Charlottesville, Va.-based artist resembles Ought as much as Toledo and Car Seat. “Faith in Anyone” embraces the now but with a “healthy” dose of nervousness.

Gold Connections’ self-titled debut EP drops March 31 through Fat Possum and is now available for preorder. You can hear the track below and check out supporting dates that Gold Connections have with The Districts beneath that. Lastly, way down at the bottom, we’ve got Paste Cloud footage from The Districts’2016 Paste Studio session. - Paste

“Faith In Anyone” fuses contemplative, stream-of-conscious lyricism with collosal swells of guitar. The song's steady ascension captures both a sense of longing and lethargy, with repeated lyrics “I know, I know we will never grow old / I could never lose faith in anyone” becoming a mantra of numbed surrender to a seemingly static, endless present. The cut features production, engineering, and mixing by Will Toledo of Car Seat Headrest. Although Toledo is not a current member of Gold Connections, he contributed electric guitar, drums, bass, and backing vocals throughout the 2014 recording process. - Line of Best Fit

The glistening cherry on top of Fat Possum’s wonderful start to 2017, the label today share “Faith In Anyone“, another glimpse inside Gold Connections’ debut EP which is released this coming March. The project of Will Marsh, who’s perhaps best known for playing Car Seat Headrest, the new EP is produced by CSH commander-in-chief Will Toledo and certainly crosses in to similar territories, if the first two tracks from it are anything to go by.

Following on from “New Religion”, the new track is a slow-burning, fuzzed-out jam that rolls on for five engaging minutes, Marsh’s party-worn vocal pitched in the early morning quietness, where the sun fills the streets before the people get the chance to. Showing plenty of restraint, as well as the more wholesome moments where Marsh truly lets loose, “Faith In Anyone” seemingly grows in stature with each and every listen; a rabid, romantic, riveting rock and roll cut that might well be the heart-worn anthem that 2017 was waiting for all along. Play it again, and again, below. - Gold Flake Paint