Gold Star is the project of Los Angeles multi-artist Marlon Rabenreither, who has released the albums Big Blue, Uppers & Downers, and 2024’s year’s How To Shoot The Moon. Rabenreither has collaborated and toured with Mazzy Star, Orville Peck, Lucinda Williams, Phoebe Bridgers, the Black Lips, and Stephen Malkmus and more. Today, the artist has shared new single, “Phantom Sam,” produced by & feat. Adam Granduciel of The War on Drugs.

Marlon explains the path that led to “Phantom Sam”:

“There are a lot of things I have difficulty saying, and songwriting sometimes has this ability to vocalize and work through emotions and situations that I am ill-equipped to deal with in my day-to-day life. I don’t usually sit down and decide to write a song about a certain person or event; often the words and sentiments kind of pour out, and it’s only after some time that it becomes clear to me what I am trying to say or why. “Phantom Sam” is a plea to a good friend, a message that says “you are not alone” and “I love you,” things of that nature; it’s all the words that are sometimes hard to say.

I had some demos and shared them with Adam Granduciel from The War On Drugs, and he had me come down to his studio–this track seemed to resonate with him in particular, and we cut it there with his help and musical contributions. I have always admired the way his records sounded and the way his music has such classic influences, yet still feels really contemporary and I hoped to accomplish something similar with the production on “Phantom Sam.”

Track Credits

Produced: Adam Granduciel
Engineer: Austin Asvanonda
Studio: One Cue Studio
Mixing & Mastering: Rick Parker
Additional Engineering: Jake Supple at Big Bad Sound

Instrumentation

Marlon Rabenreither: Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica
Adam Granduciel: Guitar, Synth, Bass, Wurlitzer, Keys
Jordan Odom: Bass, Vocals
Mikey Whiteside: Piano, Organ, Wurlitzer
David Kohn: Drums, Percussion

Order “Phantom Sam” by Gold Star HERE