Premiere! STL GLD’s “Shimmer” is a Stunning Pocket Symphony

It’d be reductive to talk about genres when it comes to STL GLD. Their sonic palette is so wide, it’s probably shorter to talk about what they don’t sound like. On their latest, “Shimmer,” the band constructs a veritable pocket symphony, growing from swooping electronic flourishes to sharp tinged guitars to 808s to pounding drums to majestic strings down to stripped down acoustic tones courtesy of indie act Darlingside. Always floating over it is the profound lyricism of Moe Pope. The pieces rise and fall like a tidal wave, cascading into an unexpected catharsis. With the gorgeous accompanying video, “Shimmer” more than lives up to its name.

Vocalist Moe Pope tells us, “This is like polishing a dirty Crown, it may be covered in soot and ash, blood and tears but it’s still a Crown. There are still Jewels in that, and it has the ability to Shine with a little bit of work.” The Arcitype adds “Moe and I were working on a song for the album that we felt could really be something special, but it needed an outside contribution to help push it there. Moe and I both fell in love with Darlingside while working on our album, and we decided to try reaching out to them about the song, and they were receptive to the idea of working on it with us. It then became the balancing act of maintaining the core sound of each band, while fusing them in a way that felt natural, and like they belonged together. I remember asking them during the session if they had ever performed over 808s, and smiled happily when they said not before that day. As a band, we’ve always aimed to take our music in new directions that feel like they might lead to new sounds. This song is special to me, and I think it accomplished that.”

Follow STL GLD on socials @stlgld for more. Stay tuned for the forthcoming Rock Boyega out November 11th.