There’s a good chance that if you were to ask any fan of Aussie rock about just who was leading the charge, they just might return with the name Goldminds.
Having been on the scene for a few years now, the Melbourne four-piece have been preaching the gospel of ’70s-inspired punk rock ever since, albeit updated in accordance with their own commanding presence and blistering compositions.
With their debut album out on October 2nd, the quartet recently shared their latest single, the blistering “Deadwood”, which was released earlier this month to widespread acclaim.
Produced by Michael Badger, the track is an ominous slice of bluesy punk rock, helped along by a crashing chorus, and the inimitable vocals of Goldminds frontwoman Courtney Constantinou, better known as Coco, who signs about ridding the word of outdated and antiquated perspectives like they’re the titular deadwood.
“It’s about long-awaited change in the world and in society,” explains Coco. “The need to let go of outdated ways of thinking, to wake up and STAND up to fear, oppression, inequality, injustice, the patriarchy and the toxic ways that we have treated our planet!
“I’ve always found song writing to be a very meditative practice. A kind of surrendering to whatever comes up by allowing space for the pages to write themselves. If you let the subconscious mind free to express itself, the messages that come through can be quite profound and “Deadwood” is no exception.”
As guitarist Brendan West explains, the origins of the track span back quite some time, though it wasn’t the first on their list when it came to recording their debut album.
“‘Deadwood’ came out of a songwriting weekend that Coco and I had up in the Blue Mountains a couple of years ago,” West recalls. “We had been having weekly writing sessions for about a year but thought it would be good to get away to Coco’s dad and step mum’s place near Katoomba where we could really focus on writing with no distractions. Back in Melbourne we recorded a demo and filed it away.
“A while later, when we formed the band with Jordan and Nic, it was actually the very first song that we tried out in the rehearsal room but it didn’t really come together that well. After that we didn’t give it much thought until our producer Michael Badger heard the demo and insisted that we record it as part of the album.
“I’m really glad we listened to him because I love the way it turned out. It is completely chaotic. I was overlaying the lead guitar lines with bass and at one point I was playing the guitar with a power drill while it was feeding back and screeching through the amp. It was just so beautiful.”
In addition to the new single, the group also shared a music video for “Deadwood”, which employs the talents filmmaker Aleesha Hardie and editor Simon Atkinson to create a simple yet effective visual accompaniment for the track, succeeding despite the restrictions that come along with a global pandemic.
“Deadwood” serves as the latest in a run of singles shared by the group in the lead-up to their debut album Signals which is on track to be released on October 2nd.
Goldminds’ “Deadwood” is out now, while their debut album Signals will be released on October 2nd, with pre-orders available now.
