Marshmallow Coast – HHBTM Records

M Coast – Say It In Slang (CD)

diana@hhbtm.com — Fri, 21 Jun 2019 22:57:24 +0000

Back in 1997, newly transplanted Athenians Derek Almstead and Andy Gonzales divided most of their time between the exploding Elephant Six scene and their day jobs at a local sub shop. Their co-worker Carlton Owens, a fantastic and accomplished local drummer, was busied with a different side of the local music scene, playing multiple jazz and blues gigs. Nine years later, the three have reunited as the core rhythm section of M Coast, along with Sara Kirkpatrick and Emily Growden, two fresh talents on the scene. When a young Andy Gonzales first moved to Athens in tow with The Music Tapes, his project Marshmallow Coast was already in motion with a few singles, cassettes and even a finished first album, “Timesquare”. Built on a love of jazz and impressionist classical composers, combined with the bedroom D.I.Y. songwriting of the emerging 4-track generation, Marshmallow Coast was a breath of depth and complexity amidst the three chord world. Almost immediately upon arriving in town, Andy met Derek Almstead through their E6 cohorts. Andy and Derek left Of Montreal in 2003, Andy to get a nursing degree and Derek to focus on other projects and work on getting his own music recorded. Andy and Sara Kirkpatrick made a Marshmallow Coast record together (with the talented engineer and musician Jason NeSmith of Casper and the Cookies) called “Antistar”, featuring Sara’s beautiful flute-work and a more stripped-down, focused sound. Meanwhile Derek met Emily Growden while working on years of built-up “pieces” he had written, trying to make them into something more digestible and song-oriented, while highly influenced by the more abstract pop songs of Brian Eno, the Moles, and Brian Wilson.

Marshmallow Coast – Phreak Phantasy (CD)

diana@hhbtm.com — Fri, 21 Jun 2019 22:35:27 +0000

Elephant 6 Collective band Marshmallow Coast lead by Andy Gonzalez

Marshmallow Coast – Seniors & Juniors Strikes Back (CD)

diana@hhbtm.com — Fri, 21 Jun 2019 21:51:36 +0000

Elephant 6 Collective band Marshmallow Coast lead by Andy Gonzalez (Music Tapes, of Montreal, and Mind Brains) rerecords his 2nd lo-fi album Seniors and Juniors as a full band with extra songs and instrumentation.

Marshmallow Coast – Vangelis Rides Again (LP / CD)

diana@hhbtm.com — Sun, 02 Jun 2019 19:18:33 +0000

Some people are in it for the money, some people are in it for the drugs. Andy Gonzales (ex-of Montreal, the Music Tapes, Mind Brains) is in it for the music. In a career of stylistic left-turns and singular talent, Vangelis Rides Again is the most singular, affecting record in the career of Marshmallow Coast, a brittle prog-pop wasteland that leaves the listener weeping and numb. Everything sounds like it emerged from an empty late-night hotel lounge in decline, a dark sense of urgency delivered in a laid-back style. It's the end of the world as seen through pharmaceutical gauze. It's the most mysterious and moving record of an inscrutable career, a record as unique and warm and captivating as an unread suicide note at the bottom of a shoebox.

Marshmallow Coast – Memory Girl (LP / Deluxe LP)

diana@hhbtm.com — Sat, 16 Mar 2019 05:33:58 +0000

To capture the hazy feeling of being in love, Andy Gonzales (of Montreal, the Music Tapes, Mind Brains) stylistically dove headfirst into the 1980s, bringing together the warmth of adult contemporary and the coolness of synthesizer-driven pop and New wave. Yacht rock? Such comparison may seem dismissive, but it really shouldn’t be; after all, that particular style was notable for its mixture of pleasant and relaxing sound tempered with thoughtful and relatable lyrics. And what’s wrong with that? - The Big Takeover