Gold Connections – Isabel

“’Isabel’ is not a song about a girl, but a blurred portrait of the circus we call love,” says Will Marsh, the guitarist and songwriter behind Virginia’s Gold Connections. Trying to express all of the different twists and turns of love in a song certainly can’t be easy and, indeed, it’s taken Will two years to get to this point, mostly because he kept “finding new bizarre angles.” It’s these “bizarre angles” that makes the latest track from his upcoming self-titled debut EP such a thrill-ride though. Spanning across six minutes, the influence of producer Will Toledo (of Car Seat Headrest) can be heard in its scuzzy edges, but ‘Isabel’ manages to defy expectations every step of the way. Kicking off as a lilting indie-rock number with very light country tinges, it continually morphs, gradually building up into a full-throttle wall of interlocking riffs and clashing percussion and occasionally seeming almost improvisational. By its hazy, raucous climax, it’s like Marsh and Toledo have been through the wringer, but that’s sometimes what love can be like. This is one dizzying rollercoaster you’ll be wanting to ride again and again.