Ethan Gold Visits A ‘Bright & Lonely City’ With Release Of New Track

In any city skyline anywhere around the world, you’ll see the same thing. Thousands of lights, in thousands of windows, in hundreds upon hundreds of towers, each representing an individual life in progress. So many people, so many stories, so many unheard tales, swallowed by the vastness and silence of the night. Ethan Gold, a specialist in radical empathy, feels for every one of them. ‘Bright & Lonely City’, his latest single, is an anthem for the introverted — a gorgeous, sighing electronic rock song that confronts loneliness, alienation, and the desperate desire to be known.

‘Bright & Lonely City’ is the lead track and introduction to the Ethan’s recent release, ‘Earth City 1: The Longing’, his long-awaited second album. Two more volumes of Earth City will be released in the coming years, deepening, extending, and enriching Gold’s musical and lyrical themes. The challenges of modern urban life, decay and renewal, the unquenchable desire for connection, the indispensable place of compassion in a changing world: these are the subjects that Gold is grappling with, and everything he writes is candid, well-considered, and overflowing with love for his fellow humans. Even encountering a little bit of Gold’s gorgeous music is an immersive experience. The three Earth City albums promise a warm, wide, welcoming sonic universe for music lovers to get lost in.

On the video for ‘Bright & Lonely City’, Ethan worked with his brother Ari Gold – a daring artist with a singular feel for the illustrative power of illumination – as well as various artists filming around the world. Ari Gold is exquisitely sensitive to the emotionally provocative quality of different kinds of urban light, including the seductive lure of neon, the watchful radiance of streetlamps, and the desperate blasts of colour from the high and distant windows of towers. He bathes his subjects in light as they move around their cities, always by themselves, always searching for a connection that remains elusive, forever just beyond their reach. The Gold brothers clearly feel for all of these characters in their lonely city: ordinary people in an extraordinarily alienated time, searching for meaning and friendship in a place as emotionally hazardous as the planet Earth.

Watch the clip below. Ethan Gold can be found on Instagram.

Ethan Gold - Bright & Lonely City (Official Music Video)

About the author

Lisa has been writing for over 20 years, starting as the entertainment editor on her university newspaper. Since then she's written for Popwrapped, Maximum Pop, Celebmix, and ListenOnRepeat.

Lisa loves all good music, with particular fondness for Jedward and David Bowie. She's interviewed Edward Grimes (Jedward), Kevin Godley, Trevor Horn, Paul Young, Peter Cox (Go West), Brendan B Brown (Wheatus), Bruce Foxton (The Jam), among many many more. Lisa is also available for freelance writing - please email lisa@essentiallypop.com