Rockin’ Our Turntable: Gold Motel

By Sarah Cobarrubias in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 1, 2010 6:40PM

Long-time fans of the Hush Sound, we were a little distressed when they went on hiatus last April. But Greta Salpeter, the former indie band’s pianist and co-vocalist, mended our broken hearts by starting her solo project, Gold Motel. This pop quintet features Salpeter on vocals and keyboard, supported by a back-up band made up of members from other local bands like the Yearbooks and This Is Me Smiling. We’ve been looking forward to hearing more from them since they got us hooked at their first show in December, and today, Gold Motel releases their first full-length album, Summer House.

We expected Summer House to be, well, summery. Not only did Salpeter spend part of last year in L.A., where she wrote most of the songs for the album, but GM’s self-titled EP was chock-full of breezy, sunny surf songs. The full-length’s opener, “We’re on the Run,” is the perfect addition to a summer road trip mixtape, introducing the album with an adventurous energy and healthy doses of xylophone and tambourine. Summer House in whole seems to take inspiration from sixties pop - songs like “Perfect in My Mind,” “Safe in LA” and the album’s title track give us an overwhelming desire to do the twist on the beach before grabbing our surfboards and catching some waves.

But perhaps the album’s strongest track (and it’s shortest) is “Who Will I Be Tonight.” The band quiets down for this ballad and gives Salpeter a chance to show off her rich, vibrant vocals. It’s slower and more whimsical compared to the rest of the album, as well as more introspective as Salpeter sings about breakup and identity with lyrics like “So who will I be/when you don’t want me?” With an album full of simple, sweet melodies, this song serves as a good change-up. And it’s relieving to know Salpeter can write a song that does more than just make you bop your head.

You can order an autographed copy of the album, which comes with a download, on Gold Motel’s merch site, and swing by Lincoln Hall June 11 for their record release show.

Gold Motel’s Record Release Show is Friday, June 11 at Lincoln Hall, 2424 N Lincoln, 6 p.m., $10, All Ages