Rarely do bands include both husband and wife. After all, music is inherently personal. Sharing one’s innermost thoughts is difficult, even when it’s with the ones we love. Ben Sauer and Madeline Star of Widows Gold explain how they overcame this hurdle. “We were together for four years before we married,” remembers Madeline. During that time, they composed separately. “It was scary to let someone in,” she admits. Nevertheless, division didn’t last long: “Once I opened up, it was pretty much all the time."
Ben highlights the group’s cohesiveness. “Once we met our bassist, Ian, it became easier to write,” he notes, “When the three of us are in the same room, we communicate without words.” What’s their secret? Each member contributes something different. “I’ve been writing long enough to know how to arrange music,” says Madeline, “Ben’s a great guitar player.” “Ian loves disco, dance and electronic music,” Ben adds, “He brings this other flavour.” Mostly, however, it’s friendship. “We can fool around and yell at each other. It’s like family,” describes Ben, “Our egos don’t overlap. We all want to create the best song we can every time.” Again, Ben sings Ian’s praises: “Ian’s a multi-instrumentalist. He started as a classically trained guitarist.” Ian’s training is another example of how each musician offers a different skillset. “He’s schooled in music theory,” Ben reveals, “I tend to operate off feeling.” Without two guitars, bass assumes a vital role. “We treat the bass as a lead guitar,” explains Ben.
“When I first listened to the Strokes, it exploded my mind!”
The band’s sound suggests early-2000s post-punk coupled with 80s new wave. When did their love for these genres start? “My dad’s a musician,” reveals Madeline, “I grew up listening to what he listened to in high school.” “Why don’t you list some band names?” Ben whispers in Madeline’s ear. Soon, there’s a cascade of names: The Cure, Depeche Mode, The Clash, The Ramones… even Susie and the Banshees. Finally, Madeline concedes, “Duran Duran… how can you not love that stuff?” Being in the right place at the right time was important. “When I was in high school, it was the big American indie rock moment,” she explains. Nevertheless, her dad played a key role. “You’re not going to listen to Limp Bizkit,” he’d say. “Not that I ever did…,” Madeline adds quickly.
Ben discovered post-punk more recently. “I brought a lot of that to Ben when we started being together,” Madeline explains. So, what did Ben grow up with? “Classic rock,” Ben replies, “Van Halen, Rush, AC/DC….” Madeline can’t stop herself. “Dad rock!” she exclaims. Now, Ben is a devoted fan. “When I first listened to the Strokes, it exploded my mind!” he laughs. It was as if he had found the sound he had long been searching for.
For Ben and Madeline, these post-punk heroes are as inspiring as their music. “Have you read Meet Me in the Bathroom?” Ben asks. I had not. “It’s a history of the early-2000s rock revival told through musician’s quotes”, he explains. Reading Meet Me in the Bathroom made Ben’s dreams seem feasible. “It made me realise, they’re just like us,” Ben notes. “It gives you a little hope,” agrees Madeline. Ben clearly loves this book. “He talked about it for a month straight,” laughs Madeline.
A year ago, Widows Gold made an impossible decision. Feeling something was lacking, the band abandoned their debut album. Next year, they will release the re-vamped record, entitled Love Drops. “It felt like we were getting lost in it,” says Madeline, describing days of needless tinkering with vocal, drum and keyboard parts.
Ben is eager to reveal the real reason for their decision. Madeline remains reluctant. “I’m not sure we should mention that” she whispers urgently. Nevertheless, Ben continues. It emerges that Ben was the band’s first drummer: “I was writing songs with Madeline and Ian, teaching a guitar player and then going behind the drums.”
This proved impractical. Thus, when lockdown arrived, they were perhaps too keen to accept a friend’s offer to play drums. “We had the time. We were losing our minds,” describes Madeline, “It was exactly what we needed.” Having practiced throughout quarantine, Widows Gold was the first band available once restrictions lifted. That’s when they noticed something was wrong. “We started to be held back by our drummer,” Ben admits. “We were expecting him to love it and take it as seriously as us,” confesses Madeline. This was not the case. The drummer had to go…
Ben met the new drummer, Carson, through a co-worker. As Carson played drums professionally, Ben hadn’t thought to reach out. “He comes from a progressive jazz background. He’s incredible!” exclaims Ben. Changing drummers best explains the abandonment of their first record.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t an easy decision. “We had to throw away a year’s work and thousands of dollars,” admits Ben. But, what it worth it? “Definitely.” They won’t stop singing Carson’s praises. “When you play with someone better than you, it makes you want to play better,” says Madeline. “He made us feel that this band is possible,” adds Ben, “There’s no worrying about each other anymore.” Now, more is recorded simultaneously. “None of the drums are edited,” explains Ben, “He did every song in a take or two.” There’s something else too: “His girlfriend is a graphic designer. She does our show posters and T Shirts.”
“Someone singing the words to my songs would be the coolest moment ever"
I ask if audiences respond differently to the new Widows Gold. Their answer is a determined “yes.” “This is a new game now,” declares Ben. Yet, Madeline worries people judge the band for removing their drummer. “It wasn’t like that. We just didn’t want the same thing,” she claims. Indeed, their old drummer attended their first show with Carson.
“One of the main comments we get is, ‘your drummer is ridiculous’”, laughs Ben. “You’re only as good as your drummer,” he admits. At their first show with Carson, an audience member was chatting with their former drummer. “Wow, you went from Nirvana Bleach to Nevermind!” he praised, unaware the drummer had left the band. “Maybe don’t print that,” cringes Ben. Let’s hope he didn’t mean that… Nevertheless, he concedes, “that’s a perfect representation of where the audience’s head is at.”
Previously, band members have expressed a desire to “have an impact.” I was curious as to what they might mean. “I’m always trying to be a better lyricist,” explains Madeline, “I’d like people to relate to my songs.” Ian and Ben are the pipe dreamers whilst Madeline has simple needs. “Someone singing the words to my songs would be the coolest moment ever,” she admits.
Ben reveals his aspirations: “We want to bring back true instrumentation and musicianship in the music industry, our area and eventually the entire world.” He feels pop music has lost its integrity: “You can’t even detect what you’re hearing anymore.” Thus, Widows Gold uses acoustic drums, and amps instead of DI units.
“Everything is written, performed and co-produced by us,” Ben explains, “When we play live, it’s just guitar, bass, drums, vocals and tambourine.” Madeline thinks the revolution has started. “Emo is making a massive comeback right now,” she remarks. Whilst admitting that emo is hardly the rawest form of music, Madeline believes an emo revival presages the return of musicianship.
Widows Gold often receive comments like, “It’s cool to see people playing what they have again.” Clearly, immense thought goes into their live sound. “When you see live bands in small clubs and bars, the first thing to be sacrificed is the vocals,” explains Ben, “We make sure her vocals are louder than us. We try to play to each room we’re in.” “It’s treating your audience like they have intelligence,” Ben claims.
‘Inside,’ the first single from their debut album, drops on August 2nd. Its lyrics are uncharacteristically positive. “I’m good at writing songs that are not about happy things,” laughs Madeline. Madeline explains that her words could apply just as easily to Ben or their daughter “It’s about someone finally understanding all the insides of you… all the outsides of you,” she explains. Nevertheless, there’s a sad element: “It questions why someone would love all the difficult things about you.”
Having heard ‘Inside,’ I wanted to know what the rest of the record had in store. “We’re pulling out some eighties new wave with our next song… It grooves a lot more,” reveals Madeline. “Sonically, it’s a journey,” Ben elucidates, “It starts big, becomes more intimate and then brings you back to songs that drive.” “There’s a slow song,” he adds, “Certain songs shine lights on different people.” Nevertheless, the record is cohesive. “It all sounds like it’s from the same album,” Ben declares.
I ask where ‘Inside’ sits in this journey. Ben replies: “Inside is the third track on the album…. A little blip to keep you entertained as you’re coming down the rollercoaster.” “It was the first song we wrote with Carson,” Madeline continues, “You can probably tell from its drum beat that we were like, ‘wow, we can do cool stuff like this now!’”. “It’s the only one of its kind,” Ben argues.
We’re trying to strip away what doesn’t matter to us…. What has been weighing us down… and focus on one thing: the music.
The name, Widows Gold, puzzled me. Where did it come from? “It’s a name me and my dad came up with,” explains Madeline, “we would write lists of band names. Half of them were jokes.” Since then, the name has taken on new meanings. “I’m the only girl in the band… god forbid a widow,” jokes Madeline. Then, she turns to Ben. “You explain it a lot prettier than I do.” Focusing on Ben’s explanation becomes impossible when their incredibly cute toddler enters the room. However, I get the gist: “Once you strip everything away to its raw form, you are left with the gold.”
Ben explains their process: “We write on acoustic guitars. We only continue writing songs if they sound good in that form. We’re trying to strip away what doesn’t matter to us…. What has been weighing us down… and focus on one thing: the music.” Madeline laughs. “Ben will keep talking for days if you let him.” “You can tell we don’t care about this,” Ben jokes.
When I ask Madeline which singers inspire her vocal style, she laughs: “Kind of too many.” Again, I’m hit with a myriad of names. “The Cure is a big one for me,” she admits. Her emotive delivery contains elements of Robert Smith’s theatrical style. “I’m a huge Brody Dalle fan but I obviously can’t scream.” From Joan Jett and the Runaways to the Grit and Jellyfish, Madeline’s tastes are eclectic. Even Beyonce and Rhianna get a mention. “I was obsessed with Keane’s first album,” she declares.
Fiona Apple influenced Madeline in an unusual way. “She helped me feel comfortable not sounding perfect all the time,” Madeline admits. Now, when people refer to Madeline’s unique style, she takes it as a complement: “I’m proud of the fact my voice doesn’t sound like anybody else’s.”
Widows Gold’s debut album, ‘Love Drops’, will be released on January 3rd, 2023. ‘Inside’ is coming out on Aug 2nd 2022.
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