Claud is an indie-pop artist from Brooklyn with a gift for combining the personal and relatable into their writing. The non-binary singer-songwriter sings proudly and openly about their experience as a member of the LGBTG+ community. In 2018, Claud was part of a duo called Toast when they released their first self-titled EP. Soon after, Claud started gaining traction as a solo artist. Claud released “If I Were You” in 2019, which now has millions of streams. They followed up with “Wish You Were Gay”, which is about developing feelings for a person who can never love you back because of their sexual orientation. Having opened for big names in the indie world like Clairo, Claud is certainly on the up and up. They recently signed with Saddest Factory, Phoebe Bridgers’ brand new record label. Saddest Factory’s very first release is Claud’s newest single! “Gold” is Stephanie’s DJ Pick of the Week.
In “Gold”, Claud sings about the difficulties in making a failing relationship work. Through both relatable, simple phrases and beautiful metaphors, they highlight the obviousness of a struggling relationship as well as the complexities in having something that was once so beautiful start to decay. Claud sings those simpler lines earlier on in the song’s first pre-chorus: “I like my peace, you like to fight. I like to reach, you hold on tight.” They then are able to advance the song by bringing the metaphors into the second verse:
You’re so cold
Ice on snow
It gеts old
Rust on gold
In a conversation with Consequence of Sound, Claud shared about the meaning of the track. “[“Gold”] is about contradictions; a relationship getting so tired and so old that even gold starts to rust (which isn’t scientifically possible).” The contradictory moments in the song’s lyrics mesh beautifully into the song’s chord progression in the verses, which feels like a battle between hopefulness and dejection about the future of a relationship.
Claud completely encompasses contradiction in a somewhat different way in their bright music video for “Gold”. Claud appears as a sort of horned creature dressed half in blue and half in green whilst partaking in lessons at a manners school. Instead of focusing on a relationship, the video conceptualizes contradiction in society: how we are taught to behave versus how we want to behave. Watch Claud continue to push boundaries in the “Gold” music video below!
Be sure to tune into 100.1 FM or lightning100.com to hear “Gold” by Claud, featured as Stephanie’s DJ Pick of the Week. And we want to hear your thoughts! Tweet at us with #L100DJPick and give us your take on the track.
