The GGOOLLDD Standard

Margaret Butler, singer with Milwaukee-based electropop act GGOOLLDD, calls her band’s music “dungeon disco glam.” (Pronounced “gold,” the unusual spelling of the band name comes from Butler’s trying to differentiate her band in Google searches. Entering “Gold band” into Google brought up a bunch of wedding rings.)

I ask Butler if she can define such an unusual description any further, and she playfully says, “No, not really.” But those three words do convey GGOOLLDD’s blend of danceable dream pop, theatrical stage shows and the synth-goth grooves of Depeche Mode, as well as a charismatic lead singer and a Midas touch with pop hooks.

GGOOLLDD is releasing a new EP, Teeth, in December, and although it features the shimmering and airy single “Excelsior Springs,” Butler calls Teeth grittier than GGOOLLDD’s past few releases. “It’s a slightly new concept for us that we’re trying out,” she says. “It’s just the four of us, and we write when the spirit moves us. We try not to write the same sort of thing twice.”

“Excelsior” starts with the crack of a snare drum leading into a cascading guitar hook that recalls Beach House. Soon Butler chirps in a breathy soprano: “Like bourbon in my lemonade, you were all I want.”

The grit Butler refers to shows up elsewhere on the slightly industrial, very ’80s vibe permeating “Secrets,” also off the upcoming EP. Butler writes all the lyrics but can’t point to any specific influence or inspiration. “It’s generally from my own experience. It’s subconscious.”

GGOOLLDD plays 10 pm Thursday, Sept. 28, at Hi-Fi Music Hall Lounge; $10 advance, $12 door, 21-plus.

A Note From the Publisher

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