Photo by Khairi Christopher

The conversation surrounding modern shoegaze is nothing new, but Cold Gawd is ensuring that the world keeps talking as the band brings the genre to an entirely different level from an outside view. Led by its mastermind Matt Wainwright, Cold Gawd just released their breakthrough sophomore effort (and first for the post-punk hotbed Dais Records,) God Get Me the Fuck Out of Here, a collision of heavy shoegaze, hardcore, and R&B affliction that sinks its head in deep, and touches bliss amid the turmoil.

+rcmndedlisten spoke with Matt Wainright via e-mail about building his own world within today’s shoegaze universe, representing Black artists in both Cold Gawd’s sound and the scene, and the Title Fight path to worldwide domination.

+rl: Your 2020 debut, The Creative Pursuits of You and Me, laid a promising foundation for the kind of heavy shoegaze that can be heard throughout the modern scene, yet, God Get Me the Fuck Out of Here, levels up on the heaviness in a more hardcore-indebted way that instantaneously separates itself from all else of what’s being made right now. How did you manage to uncover those deeper layers in carving out your own corner within that sound?

Matt Wainright: I studied, practiced, and listened to a lot of music. From shoegaze to rap to R&B to anything else I took in, I broke them down because I needed to know how to form a sound to differentiate myself. I need to know how to build a perfect track list. Also, on top of all of that, a lot of the “meanness” in the tone comes from hunger. I’m hungry to be the best in the game. Doing this has to be my day job / my lifestyle, and you don’t accomplish that by riding the line. You take your influences and then improve upon the groundwork those artists were able to lay down.

+rl: This album was recorded by you, yourself alone, at Open Ocean studio with Gabe Largaespada, but you’ve since expanded Cold Gawd into a six-piece band. Was doing so part of your creative vision all along when bringing the album to life inside the studio?

MW: Absolutely. I’ve always felt that the live experience needed to be different than how someone may experience listening to the record. Everyone adds their own flair. That is still true to the source material, and makes it slightly different in a way where I think someone in the crowd would say, “It doesn’t do that on the record,” and mean it in a good way.

+rl: We’re seeing more representation of POC throughout the hardcore and punk communities, but shoegaze is still far behind in that regard. The spoken word track “Comfort Thug” addresses that, as does innuendo through press photos and the album’s cover art. It tilts the vantage point of a genre usually reserved for a template of romanticized emotions in devastation or bliss, and is beautiful to hear reveal itself. How does the challenge of smashing open doors to audiences beyond those in typically white spaces influence your songwriting?

MW: Sonically, It makes me want to make the best art possible. I remember seeing someone had seen the cover and based on my appearance thought it would be a “mumble rap” record, which didn’t offend me, but rather, gave me more energy to take the genre and put it on its head. Whether that kid heard it or not, I know there’s going to be people coming into this record being like, “Ain’t no way he did. Shoegaze? It can’t be…” But you better believe I’m taking this to a-whole-nother level. With lyrics, I ain’t gon cap, I’m still hitting the same topics that are usually covered in the genre, but where I think I differ from the field is that my influence for lyrics and melodies are coming from Solange, dvsn, Drake, etc. and myself being a Black artist being inspired by other Black artists is another asset I have that puts me above the rest of the field. My presence in the space alone is already knocking a few doors down and I’m going to keep doing that in any way I can.

On top of all of the above, you returned to your hometown of Rancho Cucamonga after living in Chicago during the writing and recording of this album. The final moments of its closer, “Passing Through the Opposite of What It Approaches”, hear the lyrics “Leave what you know / And get grown / Everyday / Remember / Why you left” touch the surface. Where does Cold Gawd transcend to next?

MW: In the immediate, Pasadena, California. In the future, we’re going global. The first sticker I ever made for the band said “Cold Gawd Worldwide” and I know that’s attainable. Title Fight’s Floral Green turned 10 years old the other day and it reminded me of that world tour video they posted where not only are they experiencing the world outside of Wilkes-Barre, PA but the world is experiencing them. I want to do that and more. I want to be everywhere and in turn, this needs to be everywhere.

Cold Gawd’s God Get Me the Fuck Out of Here is available now on Dais Records.