As the title suggests, GGGOLDDD's upcoming "PTSD" is an EP with a story that is not necessarily happy, yet, is a loud celebration of moving on. It’s about living in a new reality and escaping violence. All five songs are about loss and leaving things behind that are full of power, beauty, and hope.
The EP's five songs include the previously released "I Let My Hair Grow", as well as two new songs and two re-written songs. The release aims to connect the band's rich, celebrated past with the adventurous future that they have ahead.
On the EP, vocalist Milena Eva comments:
“2 years ago I was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. I’ve been in intensive therapy ever since. It’s been a wild ride revisiting horrible memories and having breakthrough moments. During this time we started writing new music and rewriting old songs. It was exactly the excitement I needed to clear my head. We're showing you a glimpse of the future of GGGOLDDD."
If you’ve been fortunate enough to catch GGGOLDDD live this year, you know that they are now a 4-piece – a progression that they're very excited about and want to mark down in history with new music. While they prepared for touring, they revisited the back-catalogue and re-wrote two older songs with the new lineup. Reflecting on the single, the band said that the song was a true highlight to play each night on tour and that they are thrilled to be sharing the renewed version. To top it all off and pay homage to all the people that went out to those shows, the accompanying video is a compilation of 69 Instagram clips of their live performances of the song – a thank you to each and every attendee.
More about This Shame Should Not Be Mine:
In the silence of 2020’s lockdown, Milena Eva was confronted with parts of her past that had been long buried. Bubbling up to the surface, repressed memories and traumatic events pushed their way into her daily life until they could no longer be ignored. With no choice but to confront her past, she accepted its presence in the present, an unwelcome houseguest during already uncomfortable times.
Around the same time, Roadburn Festival approached GGGOLDDD to propose a commissioned performance for the 2021 online edition of the festival - and the opportunity granted Milena a creative outlet to process her emotions. Shortly before their Roadburn performance, Milena revealed that she had been raped aged 19; it is the memories of this time and its lasting impact on her that informed This Shame Should Not Be Mine.
Following the Roadburn show—which was the most viewed and talked about set of the festival and was likened by viewers to acts like Portishead, Massive Attack and Björk—GGGOLDDD had a desire to commit the work to record as soon as possible. They returned to Jaime Gomez Arrelano’s Orgone Studio (Ghost, Grave Pleasures, Paradise Lost) in the UK where they also recorded 2019’s Why Aren’t You Laughing? Granting themselves more time to record than with previous sessions, they worked at a pace that allowed room to breathe and process as they went. The remote location of the studio returned Milena to the silence of her previous emotional confrontations; only this time she embraced the quiet, the distance from real life and the capaciousness of the setting. Mastering was undertaken by Cicely Balston, ensuring that the story and all musical ideas transpired with maximum impact. This setup alongside the recording environment allowed GGGOLDDD to craft the album as they had envisioned it: a dark and contemporary pop album that exists in its own sonic universe.
Visually, the album is complemented by stunning artwork courtesy of Milan-based photographer Szilveszter Makó. The images depicting Milena as a pre-Raphaelite beauty encased in armour display a metaphor for the emotional armour she has worn for years.
With This Shame Should Not Be Mine, GGGOLDDD has delivered the most bold and ambitious work of their career to date. Capturing the essence of both extreme vulnerability and the strength gained from the process of reclaiming ownership of one's past, these ten tracks are an intimate anthology of transformative power.
This Shame Should Not Be Mine was released on April 1st, 2022, via Toronto-based Artoffact Records as deluxe double-vinyl and double-CD editions, which include a recording of the band’s 2021 Roadburn Festival performance as bonus material. The album also comes as a standalone single-LP edition, as well as digital configurations on streaming and download stores.
Copies can be ordered at this location.
Track Listing:
I Wish I Was a Wild Thing with a Simple Heart
Strawberry Supper
Like Magic
Spring
Invisible
I Won’t Let You Down
Notes on How to Trust
This Shame Should Not be Mine
On You
Beat by Beat
About GGGOLDDD (f/k/a GOLD):
GGGOLDDD have released four previous studio albums to widespread critical acclaim, and have caught the eye of international media with their dark, hypnotic take on pop music. With their roots in rock music, the band embrace experimentalism and are unrestrained by genre boundaries within their work. GGGOLDDD have toured with bands as diverse as Converge and New Model Army, and performed at internationally renowned festivals such as Hellfest and Roadburn - the latter inviting Thomas and Milena to be their 2022 curators.
GGGOLDDD is:
Danielle Warners - Bass guitar
Igor Wouters - Drums
Jaka BoliΔ - Guitars
Milena Eva - Vocals, electronics
Thomas Sciarone - Guitars, electronics
Vincent Shore - Guitars
ARTOFFACT:
