Kevin Bronson on July 16th, 2019

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Andrew Rinehart in the nom de tune of singer-songwriter and producer Andrew Sellers, who over the past decade has worked in various bands under various different guises. He is as beholden to genre as as a puppy is to long soliloquoys, which is to say he goes where his active mind takes him.

As a musician, he’s gone from the hardcore scene in his native Louisville, Ky., to DIY circles in New York City and now to Los Angeles, where he has been releasing a string of singles to follow up his 2015 opus, “Nothing/Everything.” Kindred spirits might seem to be Sufjan Stevens, Daniel Johnston or Bill Callahan, but his often-quirky music has an Ariel Pink streak, not to mention the easy melodic sense (through not the prolificity) of Robert Pollard.

His recent exploits have included “Interdimensional Nonconversational Inconsequential Love,” which is as wild a ride as the title suggests, and “They Say,” a nine-minute “eulogy” (his term) for a relationship. For the latter, he even made a video with his ex-girlfriend to ensure closure, so Rinehart is nothing if not sensible.

The affecting new single “Rose Gold” finds Rinehart coming out on the other side, positively bursting with positivity, not to mention an easy-schmeezy melody and heart-on-the-sleeve folk couplets. “‘Rose Gold’ was one of those rare songs that came in a flash — the entire song all at once, verses, choruses, lyrics, everything, all in one dizzying vision,” he says. “I had just reconnected with someone I was totally in love with, so in that moment I was high out of my mind on life and literally anything and everything seemed possible. Basically I was in a headspace of 100% pure optimistic glee. I don’t experience that perspective very often, so I leaned into it hard and, waddya know, out came this song.”

The video, directed by Joseph Kenneth, Frankie Latina and Rinehart, takes Rinehart and pal Paige Elkington out to the desert for a day of cavorting around Salvation Mountain. “Hopefully,” Rinehart says, “its Technicolor swirl broadcasts the same kind of mega-joy I felt when the song showed up like some stupid happy dog psyched to take off running.”

Indeed, one scarcely needs the video to detect his Current Mood: giddy.

||| Watch: The video for “Rose Gold”

||| Live: Andrew Rinehart plays July 16 at Tenants of the Trees and July 29 at Ham & Eggs Tavern.