Greta Gertler Gold

PRESS // (CONTINUED)

 

"Singer/keyboardist Greta Gertler Gold was about eight months pregnant when she played her most recent show, at Barbes about six weeks ago, with her art-rock band the Universal Thump. If that’s not punk rock, you figure out what is. The Universal Thump’s music is actually not punk at all – it’s lush, and ornate, and meticulously crafted…and an awful lot of fun." 

- A Richly Tuneful, Enigmatic New Album From Art-Rock Band the Universal Thump, New York Music Daily
 

---

"We rarely review EPs, and only when they offer something substantial. The Golds have really outdone themselves here. These five tracks are smart, imaginative, unpredictable, and ultimately very, very listener friendly. These tracks will stand the test of time...you can bet your booties that they'll still sound great decades from now. They have a wonderfully cool classic sound and the songs themselves are nothing short of spectacular...We can't wait for these folks' next full-length release. Highly recommended. TOP PICK."

- Baby Sue. Full review.
 

---

It's been a long time since I last listened to music so vividly rich with colours - just listen to those skins and drums, with so many harmonics.

- Beppe Colli, Clouds and Clocks (Italy) Full Review & Interview with Greta Gertler Gold
 

---

The Universal Thump is an ambitious, overstuffed banquet of musical styles and instrumentation, with influences ranging from deep psychedelia to prog at its must evolved, convoluted and unapologetic.

- Elizabeth Nelson, NPR Song of the Day. Full article.
 

---

Australian singer-songwriter Greta Gertler is a rising name in New York's downtown singer-songwriter scene. 

- WNYC Soundcheck. Full show.
 

---

Springing from Gertler’s fertile imagination and arresting soprano voice, this fourchapter masterpiece is a study of distance and longing through the eyes of humans and other creatures from deep places.

- Kay Cordtz, Elmore Magazine. Full Review.
 

---

This beautifully sprawling double disc calls on more than five dozen musicians to carry out the gorgeous orchestral sweep of the 18 songs. Piano based, the settings embrace everything from chamber-like portraiture to cabaret, from the gusto of a small-town parade to the undulating seas of a modernist philharmonic. There are passages that vividly set scenes for a film that builds itself in your mind. 

- David Greenberger, Metroland 
 

---

Crystal clear ideas, executed to perfection. The more we spin this, the better it sounds… Top pick.

- Baby Sue.

---

I cherish both Greta Gertler and Adam Gold, the principal players in this band, the Universal Thump, and truly admire their first full-length album, especially for its arrangements which are extremely lovely and ornate.

- Rick Moody, The Rumpus. Full interview.
 

---

Chance is doing its best to make some wonderful music appear, as if by magic, in my mailbox. ‘The Universal Thump’ is the perfect specimen: fine compositions, stimulating lyrics, very good (both vocal and instrumental) performances, great variety when it comes to arrangements, crystal-clear recorded sound.

- Clouds and Clocks (Italy). Full Review.
 

---

The only chink is this record's armour in that there isn't one.

- Kate Hennessy, Sydney Morning Herald. Full Review.
 

---

Greta Gertler & The Carpentier String Quartet.

- Irene Trudel's show, WFMU. Link here.
 

---

Whether as a solo artist, a member of the bands Peccadillo and the Extroverts, or as one-half of the duo The Universal Thump with her husband, drummer Adam Gold, Gertler has always specialized in well-crafted, whimsical orchestral pop music that reflect influences include the Beatles, Billy Joel, Tin Pan Alley and the Brill Building.

- David Chiu, Brooklyn Based. Full article.
 

---

By turns epic and intimate, Gertler's album marries richly layered pop, jazz and classical textures, sometimes all in one song. Lyrically, it is the story of Greta's first years in New York. Sonically, it echoes the work of some of Gertler's heroes such as Brian Wilson and Stevie Wonder.

- Erik Philbrook, ASCAP Radar Report. Full article.
 

---

Epic Art-Rock Brilliance. 

- New York Music Daily, Alan Young. Full Review.
 

---

An Artist's Perspective on the Brooklyn Scene.

- Performer Magazine.  Link here.

AWARDS //

 

2020 Jonathan Larson Grant Finalist 

2019 City of Sydney Cultural Grant and Create NSW Grant to develop musical adaptation "Alphabetical Sydney" 

2018 NYU Playwrights Horizons Theatre School Workshop (Triplight) 

2017 Polyphone Music Festival (The Real Whisper)  

2017 The Tank NYC (Reading and Workshop,  
Triplight) 

2014-15 Ars Nova Uncharted (The Real Whisper) 2015 The Orchard (Anna Hit)

2013 SPACE at Ryder Farm Residency (Triplight) 2014 BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop 2014 The Workshop Theater (Une Parisienne in NY)

2013 Ucross Residency (Triplight)  

2012 San Francisco International Film Festival, NY Shorts Festival. Coney Island Film Festival and Seoul Film Festival for Us: A Family Album (film score)

2012 Independent Music Award Winner: Best Concept Album. Best Producer for "The Universal Thump"

2012 Rhinebeck Writers Retreat (Triplight) 

2005 International Songwriting Competition Finalist 2007-12 ASCAP Awards Plus Recipient 

2004 ASCAP Songwriters Workshop

2004 ARIA Gold Certification (The Whitlams Years DVD) 

1999 "Love this City" -Album by The Whitlams  
(included track 'Blow Up the Pokies'. Peak Chart Position: 3; ARIA Certification 2 x Platinum. Single Charts at #21 (highest charting song ever released by The Whitlams) 

1999 New York lndie Band Search Grand Prize  
('Everyone Wants to Adore You'} Best Independent Release; Peak Chart Position: 14; ARIA Certification 2 x Platinum.  

1998 Triple J Hottest 100 ('Charlie #3')  

1998 ARIA Awards -The Whitlams: "Eternal Nightcap" including 'Charlie #3' (co-written by Greta and Tim Freedman). Album of the Year; Best Pop Release;

1993 APRA Composer Exposer ('Dwell')