INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED PERTH/MELBOURNE JANGLE-FOLK-POP OUTFIT
THE GOLDEN RAIL
FOLLOW U.S. RELEASE OF NEW ALBUM WITH NEW SINGLE & VIDEO “HOLD ME TIGHT” AHEAD OF SYDNEY LAUNCH AND MORE PERTH AND MELBOURNE SHOWS
“The perfect marriage of sophisticated melodies and soulful lyrics, performed and sung by an equally soulful voice. The Golden Rail have risen to the top ofthe perfect pop charts with songs that Jimmy Webb would be proud of.” – Dom Mariani (The Stems, The Someloves, DM3, Datura4)
“The music of The Golden Rail evokes my teenage years like no other band. Deserted Perth suburbs in the summer. Boans Morley. The Purple Ear record store. The Golden Rail brings it all back. This is what Joni Mitchell was really talking about with “The Hissing of Summer Lawns”. The sense of lost love as Ian Freeman imagines a ship that might bring his love back looking out from Wireless Hill is palpable. Thing is he’s strictly northern suburbs. Golden Rail’s music speaks of a kind of loneliness that a boy growing up in the northern suburbs of Perth could know. We had The Triffids to bring us South of the River but The Golden Rail speaks to something else. Equally specific and paradoxically universal. Add to this all the gorgeous melodies and arrangements and I never really had a chance!” – Kim Salmon
Esteemed Melbourne-based indie pop band The Golden Rail, who have deep roots in the Perth jangle pop tradition and have garnered international acclaim for their previous albums, have had their third album Songs from Empty Streets, which was released on Cheersquad here late last year, released in the USA via esteemed New York’s power pop label Kool Kat Musik.
To celebrate, the band has released a gorgeous new and single from the album “Hold Me Tight”. They also have album launches in Sydney this weekend and have more shows set for Perth and Melbourne.
UPCOMING GIGS
Sat Jan 21 – Jan Marrickville Bowling Club, Sydney, as special guests of The Smart Folk’s Final Show
Sun Jan 22 Jan (from 4pm) – Gasoline Pony, Sydney, with John Kennedy Solo – https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1005208
Thurs Jan 26th – Merric Creek Tavern, Vic, with Alyce Platt and Little Faiths Acoustic Duet – https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/999055
Sun Feb 5th – The Gem, Melbourne, with Cold Irons Bound FREE
Sun Feb 12th – Lyrics Lane, Perth (Golden Rail Acoustic Duet) FREE
Sun Mar 5th – Daylesford Hotel, Vic with Blackbirds FC
Fri May 12th – Retreat Hotel, Melbourne, with Moler and Font
Watch the “Hold Me Tight” video here:
Golden Rail guitarist Jeff Baker on “Hold Me Tight”: “I was watching a YouTube clip about a Chris Bell song with a very weird tuning (full of C sharps and G sharps). They made for a very folky vibe and I showed it to Ian at some point. By the time we turned up at the next rehearsal we had Silver Linings and this song written. Somehow there were a couple of shapes that helped with the 80s guitar pop concept – very Prefab Sprout or even Aztec Camera if we may be so bold. Lyrically, it’s roughly about the good feeling arriving somewhere to find the very person you’d like to be waiting for you waiting for you. The narrator decides to stay on the train/tram/ whatever hoping to enjoy the experience each time they come back around although the question is, just how long will they keep waiting? Nice keyboard solo in the instrumental section by Nick. The outro is a nod to the intro to ‘Race for the Prize.'”
Songs from Empty Streets is the third album by Melbourne based indie-pop band The Golden Rail.
The album is available on limited edition, translucent orange vinyl, on black vinyl, and digitally. All vinyl comes with a digital download card.
Continuing an endless quest for the perfect chord, preparations for the third album were under way in early 2020 with a new batch of material rehearsed and sessions booked with producer Nick Batterham. A global pandemic saw sporadic sessions, often months apart, before a completed release was finally scheduled for the end of 2022. The band see this as their Winter album, following a seasonal progression from the first two, but the lyrical themes are more simply a quiet contemplation on friends, family and relationships past and sometimes lost. With the very able assistance of Batterham the band have been able to flesh out and realise their major songwriting influences: from Carole King to Jimmy Webb; Burt Bacharach to Paddy McAloon with a touch of mid-70s West Coast cool thrown in for good measure.
Songs from Empty Streets is out now from thegoldenrail.bandcamp.com/album/songs-from-empty-streets
The Golden Rail is the culmination of a 30-year writing partnership between principal songwriters Ian Freeman and Jeff Baker. The pair met and started performing in Perth in the mid-80’s running through a string of bands either together or as side players in The Palisades, The Rainyard, Header, Summer Suns, DM3, The Lazybirds and more recently with The Jangle Band.
A classic rock/pop combination of guitars, bass and drums with some generous harmonies and occasional keyboard flourishes, The Golden Rail‘s music is a reading of 60s and 70s pop sounds through an indie-rock prism with a subtle Australian bent. Think The Triffids, Died Pretty, Falling Joys or The Apartments.
The partnership of Ian Freeman and Jeff Baker goes back to the ’80s. While they had a long break starting in the mid-’90s when they were both touring separately with different acts around Australia and overseas, by the early 2000s they both found themselves settled in Melbourne and looking to pick up where they left off.
After playing and recording with several other West Australian ex-pats including Dave Johnstone (Ammonia) as The Ladybirds and in the cross-continental combo The Jangle Band with fellow Perth pop luminary Joe Algeri, Ian and Jeff formed a new band, taking its name from an infamous Perth CBD watering hole The Golden Rail. With a couple of line-up maneuvers, the band settled as a 4-piece, with former Header guitarist Dave Chadwick on bass and Saki Garth on drums.
The band released its first album Electric Trails From Nowhere in 2017 and followed it up in 2018 with Sometimes When. On the back of those two albums, The Golden Rail garnered critical acclaim here and abroad and have built a cult following in underground guitar pop/jangle pop circles
The sound of the band today is a reflection of the longer musical and life experiences of its members, with the flash of those golden Australian indie pop years.
PREVIOUS PRAISE FOR THE GOLDEN RAIL
“Having built a reputation for delivering in your face pop tunes, Baker and Freeman step back a little on Electric Trails From Nowhere and harness the tones of the early 70s… There is the familiar jangle and immediacy that you would expect form these pop veterans… Electric Trails From Nowhere is the best record that Baker and Freeman have put their names to in over three decades of making music together. Bucking current trends to make a classic sounding record has paid dividends. The Golden Rail are the golden ticket.” – Chris Havercroft, X-Press Mag
“… the smooth ‘made for the jangle-pop’ vocals of Freeman remain consistent, still insisting that the melodies follow him, like some sort of quasi-pied piper. However, the overall sound is now on the jangling side of all things 70’s pop rock, rather than the 60’s and at times takes on a far more indie-pop aesthetic… In general, this album is simply the prettiest and most mature that the Baker and Freeman have ever produced…” – JanglePopHub blogspot
“There is some jangle, but Electric Trails From Nowhere casts its net far wider. The playing is wonderful, guitar hooks that just grab you, rock you but gently. There’s plenty of nods to the likes of Jackson Browne…” – Don Valentine. I Don’t Hear A Single blogspot
Contact The Golden Rail
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BUY “SONGS FROM EMPTY STREETS”
thegoldenrail.bandcamp.com/album/songs-from-empty-streets
