The Chicago-based duo of Greta Rochelle and Jack Armando formed My Gold Mask around their mutual love of Italian Giallo cinema, a genre of cinema closely related to American pulp crime and mystery movies, and the dimly-lit warehouse district of their hometown where their rehearsal space is located.

Assisted by engineer and long-term collaborator Balthazar del Ley, the sound the band created on their sophomore effort, Leave Me Midnight is heavily influenced by Phil Spector’s famous “tower of sound” production of the 60s – layers upon layers of instrumentation but with cascading, swirling reverb that creates the impression of a band playing behind a stack of amplifiers in an abandoned (and possibly dilapidated) church, a gigantic warehouse or in the middle of Grand Central Terminal. And although the band has drawn some fair comparisons to Siouxsie and the Banshees, the band’s sound which emphasizes moody atmospherics and tribal percussiveness reminds me a little bit of Caveman‘s Coco Beware – but more muscular, larger, hazier, more anthemic, and just as gorgeous.  

After a summer tour, supporting Leave Me Midnight, the band which has now become a full-time trio, recently released their second single this summer/fall titled, “Severed.” Although there are some signature elements – Armando’s guitar chiming like a bell; Rochelle’s expressive voice and hypnotic percussion. However, this track is more of a seductive, slow-burning song which ends with gentle buzz.