All in the Golden Afternoon

All in the Golden Afternoon is Rachel Staggs and Carlos Jackson.

After years with Experimental Aircraft and Polyphonic Spree respectively, Rachel and Carlos began recording in 2005. The debut record is on Mind Expansion and the band has self released their recent LP, "Magic Lighthouse on the Infinite Sea."

All in the Golden Afternoon toured Western Europe in 2009 and played SXSW and Austin Psych Fest 2010. In early 2011, the group toured Eastern Europe. They have performed with Spectrum, Beach House, A Sunny Day in Glascow, Ulrich Schnauss, Animal Collective, and Boduf Songs.

Rachel has also performed backing vocals for shoegaze pioneers Chapterhouse on their recent US performances in addition to adding vocals on three Monster Movie (ex-Slowdive) albums.

PRESS: (view our NOTES section for recent reviews)

August 2011
Terrascope UK
LP review
Named after a poem from the trippiest of children’s books, Lewis Carroll’s “Alice In Wonderland”, husband and wife duo Carlos Jackson and Rachel Staggs specialise in lo-fi, deceptively innocent sounding dream pop but which on this outing at least displays both an edge and a creative maturity which ensures it never sounds twee.

Ranging from instrumentals like “Advice From A Caterpillar” and “The Pool of Tears”, the woozy acid pop of “In A Box” - which sounds like a slowed down and deconstructed outtake from Hawkwind’s “Hall of Mountain Grill” - delightful, semi-sweet shoegaze vignettes and the hypno-tronic, download–only closer “Up All Night – Western Arms Remix”, Magic Lighthouse on the Infinite Sea is bound to draw at least superficial comparison with the likes of Mazzy Star, Damon and Naomi, even latter day Broadcast. However, make no mistake, this has both an instant and enduring charm of its own and stands favourable comparison with any of the “peer group”.

Other than the quality of the music, the reason why this works well is pacing. Aside from the deliciously ethereal eight minute, “30th and Sanchez” (featuring some serious Theramin action courtesy of Octopus Project’s Yvonne Lambert) only the aforementioned “Up All Night...” clocks in at more than 5 minutes. In fact, most of the rest barely touches half of that. Whilst those who consider the world to have started and ended with side-long slow burners may be tempted to feel short changed at this point, bear in mind that this sort of format doesn’t allow for much latitude as a result of which it would be easy for this to quickly become a boring retread of itself. In this case, less really is more and it is to Jackson and Staggs’ credit that that they are able to keep proceedings so fresh and interesting throughout.

The verdict? Well, Magic Lighthouse on the Infinite Sea is pleasingly poptastic in a way that goes straight to your psychedelic psunspot (and in a way that shouts “silly grin alert”). Great cover from the inimitable Iker Spozio, too.

August 4, 2008
Austin Sound
feature
Combining their impressive credentials in some of the most unique and talented bands in towns, the husband and wife duo of All in the Golden Afternoon produce a hauntingly beautiful tapestry of dreamy psychedelic moods. Rachel Staggs and Carlos Jackson take their group’s name from a poem in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, and their music could well soundtrack a trip into the subconscious, mellow tones dripping behind Mazzy Star-like vocals and powerful blocks of distortion and fuzz. They released their fantastic debut EP this past winter, and are preparing their first full length for later this year.

February 14, 2008
The Austin Chronicle
EP review
The name comes from a hallucinogenic Lewis Carroll poem, but the newly married Rachel Staggs (Experimental Aircraft) and Carlos Jackson (the Shells) have infused their local debut as All in the Golden Afternoon with more looking glass, less rabbit hole. The title track is a reverb cruise through shoegaze's heyday and Ex Air's waves of sound, while the drum-free drone of "Anymore Anyway" echoes the Spacemen 3's "Ecstasy Symphony," both marbled down by Staggs' breathy purr. "Sunshine Is Fine" is instrumental dream-pop bliss, organ and guitar mirroring each other's feedback, and "Future Faster Now" revels in a Stereolab-ish space-pop polish. Bookended by a short intro and outro, "Garden of Live Flowers" and "The Lion and the Unicorn," All in the Golden Afternoon's six short songs never quite get to ask Alice, but they're nice aural Xanax in the meantime.

July 9, 2008
Austin Sound
Last Sunday, the Hole in the Wall inaugurated their new Shoegaze Sunday showcase, and lord knows there are enough purveyors of distortion and drone in Austin to keep them stocked at least until the end of summer. Not that we’re complaining, but we are jonesin’ to get in on some of that My Bloody Valentine reunion. Until then, though, we’ll keep digging the haze of local duo All in the Golden Afternoon.

May 3, 2007
The Onion AV Club
The Bliss Out 3
Emo's
Trends come and go, but much like the blues, Austin will always have a special place in its heart for space rock. Fitting, since groups like Spacemen 3 and The Jesus And Mary Chain might never have existed without our own 13th Floor Elevators. These days, plenty of Austin bands have kept the delay pedals burning for the shoegaze movement, though probably none as prolifically (or sweetly) as the ethereal Rachel Goldstar, whose latest project, All In The Golden Afternoon, is as sunny and breezy as the name suggests.

February 1, 2007
The Onion AV Club
The Beauty Bar
All In The Golden Afternoon is the newest project from Austin's resident space-rock princess Rachel Goldstar, who makes blissed-out pop with husband-to-be Carlos Jackson.