Released in July, Gold Motel's self-titled sophomore album is unapologetically chock-full of jangling guitar melodies, light and punchy drums and bass lines.
Formerly of The Hush Sound, Morgan does piano, organ and keyboard work along with vocals and songwriting. Morgan teamed up with Dan Duszynski, Matt Minx and Adam Coldhouse of Chicago band This Is Me Smiling and Eric Hehr from the Villains of Verona and the Yearbooks (the rhythm section would later shuffle a bit, with Billy Klein replacing Coldhouse on drums and Bobby Lord replacing Minx on bass). From there, the midwestern musicians mixed their own musical roots with Morgan's Californian pop souvenir sounds.
Gold Motel makes music that radiates with light, summery tones and nostalgic lyrics that give glances to memories of pleasant experience, including some of Morgan's own reminiscing of her time in Los Angeles before moving back to Chicago to form the band.
But regardless of location, Gold Motel disappoints none in delivering three-minute pick-me-ups, which is evident on tracks like "Slow Emergency" and "Safe in L.A.," where the floaty guitar twangs and feel-good vibes can be found in abundance.
All photos by Louis Kwok.
