Listening to Gold Lake’s single “We Already Exist,” it noticeably comes without much of the grainy lo-fi sound that accompanies many a band’s very first output. “We Already Exist” completely bypasses a band’s awkward, still-finding-their-way-and-working-out-the-kinks phase and immediately enters a song that would perfectly soundtrack one of those gorgeous city time lapses (particularly a Seattle one). If you’ve ever seen one of these, you know its a huge compliment; the song feels expansive and beautiful in this same way. And there’s good reason for this, as Gold Lake’s story is enviable enough to leave me a little mad wondering if my invite to Spain got lost in the mail. Gold Lake was initially formed by duo Carlos del Amo and Lua Rios, who met abroad in Europe and were successful musicians under the moniker We are Balboa in Spain (the trio was completed by drummer Dave Burnett once the band rooted in Brooklyn). And, oh, yeah, Carlos just happens to have opened up a club in Madrid so that they would always have a place to celebrate. So, we have: meet cool European, check; form successful band together, check; and open up hip Spanish club, check. The product is Gold Lake, who have already worked with producer Phil Ek (The Shins, Fleet Foxes, Father John Misty) on their anticipated LP Years, expected out this year.
As you would expect after all their worldly experience, Gold Lake’s single is a polished piece of shimmering pop music. A futuristic take on Fleet Foxes’ first album, featuring similar sparse and tangible guitar strums, and gorgeous layered background vocals. For a band trying to replicate their Spanish successes, their first step has them taking them lead. I only hope that I get invited to Carlos’ cool Brooklyn club when he decides to repeat that success.
