Do(n't) Believe The Hype: The Golden Filter and The Blog Machine

By Jake Guidry in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 10, 2010 9:20PM

Out of New York and bred in Australia and Ohio, respectively, The Golden Filter is Penelope Trappes and Stephen Hindman. The duo's narrative has progressed along a recent, yet very familiar trend in music: make song, get blogged, release album, tour. Their first single "Solid Gold" was released in early 2009 to much acclaim, over a year before their debut LP Voluspa eventually released. This (somewhat) new process of music dissemination has created a sort of Jekyll-and-Hyde monster. Certain days the Internet greets us with truly remarkable, fresh new music. Others it presents rehashes of formulas done a million times over--and pale in comparison at that. The problem, however, isn't that more music, good or bad, is hitting our eardrums at faster rates. The problem is that too often bloggers submit to hyperbole, quick to label a new band, DJ--whoever--the next Sonic Youth, Prince, or even The Beatles. And this is long before an actual full-length has even hit the mixing stages. The Golden Filter seem all too familiar with this, admitting themselves that not much new music they've been listening to has lasted their "3-month trial"--that is, outlasting its own hype and surviving as an actual great piece of music. So how does TGF, unlike so many fallen musicians before, resist the ill-fated blog-hyped doom?

Their debut, Voluspa, released in April, is a good start. It is a finely crafted, tight piece of electronic-disco-rock, catapulted at times into the ethereal as lead singer Penelope's voice cascades over the arpeggiated synths and the crashing drums. From start to finish, Voluspa has virtually no weaknesses. However, it often leaves us craving more punch, more bite, more ferocity. Their live show at The Empty Bottle last night--which we attended and had a chance to talk with the band beforehand--absolved some of these concerns. For one, they have a drummer, William, who plays with them live, adding some flexibility. Second, there was much more energy coming out of the songs we had previously found lacking in the album. The show was good, perhaps even great, but what was intriguing was the relatively low turn-out. The hype for The Golden Filter throughout the blogosphere didn't translate into people in the crowd. Is a solid album and a good live presence enough for them to eek out of the "3-month trial"? We hope so--we think they've got tremendous potential.

We caught up with the group a few days ago when they were in town.

Chicagoist: Your first single, "Solid Gold" came out in early 2009, over a year before your full length Voluspa was released. Did all the positive attention from that single inform the production of the full length?

Stephen: Um, probably. Yeah, I mean I guess we kinda made songs as we wanted to.

Penelope: Yeah, there was a certain element of, okay, so everyone really likes this song, so we hope that the next ten songs are liked.

S: There's elements that run throughout the whole album, like the arp [arpeggio].

C: There's a strong visual element tied with the music, what with the album art, the videos and the photo blog you maintain. Why are visuals so important?

P: When we first met we bonded a little bit more over things other than music, particulary photography and film. That was always very much a part of our friendship and our working relationship. The Golden Filter, the name itself, came from us sort of joking around about '70s photography and that hazy golden glow, so it just sort of all came together. It added to the element of us wanting people to use visuals when they listen to the music. It's about stimulating the senses.

C:This is your second tour. What has changed with the band since the first in regards to peforming?

P: We have a new drummer, William.

S: Or Bill.

P: Billy [laughs]. I think we've become generally more intense.

S: We do a few more songs from the album but, yeah, I think it's just a bit more solid.

P: Energy levels are higher.

C: You've released some awesome remixes in the past. Are there any new ones in the works?

S: An UNKLE remix just came out.

P: The one we're not sure if we're supposed to say...

S: We're not sure, but we've been saying it, which is a Yeasayer remix. We're waiting to hear from the label. But we've held off remixing. We're not deejays.

C: Have you started writing new material? What direction are you taking the sound?

P: We have and, direction wise...I don't know. [to Stephen] What was going on in there?

S: I guess it's just a bit more rough. I think it's different this time around in that we're just writing a bunch of stuff without producing it. The first time around we produced the songs as we wrote them. Now they're kind of open to be done anyway that we feel like.

P: We're leaving things a bit more loose and relaxing into the process. With the Solid Gold frenzy, we felt that. This time we're a bit more chill, sort of.

C: What's some new music you've been listening to?

P: This band I've been talking about is from Melbourne, is called Faux Pas. I think it's just one guy actually. It's pretty cool.

S: The only album that I can think of that has lasted the 3-month trial, without me getting tired of it, is the Beach House album.

C: What is the quintessential Summer jam, new or old?

P: I'm really getting into some things like MC5 [laughs]. I'm going with "Kick Out The Jams".

S: I don't know, I'm blanking. Maybe we should just leave it at MC5. That's kind of a bizarre choice.

P: Weird is good.