Gold Class possess an all-consuming energy that demands the attention of their audience; not only on stage and through their music, but also in the way they have propelled themselves over the past year. The four piece have just released their new single Life As A Gun along with the exciting news that they had been signed to killer Indie record label, Spunk. Quite a feat for a group that have only been together 18 months.
The newest signing for legendary indie label, Spunk, Melbourne’s Gold Class possess an all-consuming energy, dark and bristling with post-punk enthusiasm.
Members Mark Hewitt (drums), Evan Purdey (guitar), Jon Shub (bass) and Adam Curley (vocals) banded together to form post-punk/ garage-rock group Gold Class out of sheer curiosity. According to Purdy, “There wasn’t any pre-conceived formula or outcome but luckily something clicked and has continued to click.”
“For whatever reason there’s always been a compulsive urgency for us to get things done—write songs, play shows, get an album recorded etc. I think that urgency translates into how we play and hopefully how the albums sound. Simon Grounds who produced it did a superb job of capturing what we’re about and we can’t wait for people to hear it,” explains Purdey.
By mid 2014, with only a handful of songs under their belts, Gold Class were captivating crowds with stage stealing shows. From art-space basement gigs to national play for their debut seven-inch, Michael there is something totally absorbing about Gold Class’ sporadic rhythms, bristling and Aus-garage guitar lines, especially once enhanced by the deep vibrato of singer Adam Curley.
British influences such as Joy Division and The Smiths are pretty evident, but don’t define Gold Class. Purdey hopes there is a wider spectrum of influence in what they do, saying, he personally hears “fragments of Antony Hegarty and Jeffrey Lee Pierce in Adam’s vocal delivery”.
Gold Class’ new track Life As A Gun is so powerful compositionally and instrumentally it is addictive. The drums and bass set a strong and distinctive tempo, spurring Curley to sing his bloody heart out. Which he does! With a controlled choppiness that builds and retracts in sync with the lyrics and atmospheric guitar the song picks you up, holds you down, drops you, and leaves you buzzing – like a rocking rhythmic roller coaster. In short the energy this song exudes is palpable, contagious and honest.
The ambiguity of Curley’s lyrics leave much room for interpretation. Evan Purdey says for him, it is a song about “devotion to the point of it being harmful”. For me, it is a song about being pushed to the brink – being forced to make decisions that may exclude others – having to pull the trigger. The gun is a metaphor for so many of life’s experiences and emotions; perhaps Curley’s intention was to explore this.
Gold Class’ first single Michael is a conventionally darker song – teaming steady percussion and a clean sombre baseline with thought-provoking lyrics, backed by a gritty guitar solo. Released at renown Melbourne stomping ground Boney in November last year, it is hard to believe a song of its calibre could come from a group so freshly united.
The video for Michael, directed by Chicago director John Orris consisted of live footage of the band filtered through soft, almost hallucinogenic hues of blue, purple and pink. Fitting once again within an 80’s post-punk framework, the clip offers a neutral backdrop; one that allows the raw emotion of the song to prevail – free from aesthetic persuasion.
Gold Class have had an extensive break from playing and will hit the stage again in August, “hopefully curbing some of the creeping stir-craziness that has manifested in the interim.”
Catch them live:
Playing 17th August – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne
Saturday 19th August – Volumes 2015, Sydney
