This Saturday at Off Broadway, The Union Electric will release their first full-length album, called Time Is Gold, along with Pretty Little Empire, Middle Class Fashion, and Red Squad. It’s a good time to be a creative around here, and the resurgence of support for local music is largely to thank. The UE show will be a nice amalgamation of all things authentically St. Louis – four diverse bands with dedicated fans playing in an acoustically fantastic venue topped off by a local eatery parked out back.

I talked to Union Electric’s Melinda Cooper about the whole deal. It went like this:

Talk about a track on the record and why it’s particularly meaningful/interesting to you.

“Tunnels” will probably always be the most significant to me. It’s the first song the four of us actually wrote together. Tim brought the words and a loose structure to practice and after about two sessions we had shaped the parts into one complete piece. It felt really good to do that together.

Everything about this project is meaningful to me because it’s something we accomplished with the help and creativity of good friends. Time Is Gold is a compilation of memories. It’s nice to have these 11 bits all on this one piece of media.

Pick your favorite “thing” about each band that’s playing on the bill Saturday night with UE.

Everything is my favorite thing.

I really love Red Squad. They’re so raw it hurts. Lately it seems like every show they play has been scheduled for the same nights we play and I have to miss out. I can’t wait to see them Saturday. All that melty tone growling over mad rhythm…it’s a live show buzz that lasts for days.

PLE is a sure thing. That’s not the only thing that I love about them, but it’s probably my favorite. They’re going to deliver gorgeous songs with as much intensity and sincerity as you got the first time you ever saw them. They’re kind of like a Cohen Brothers movie. You know that you’re going to love it before it even starts and you want to hit “rewind” immediately once it’s over.

Two out of 3 Middle Class Fashionistas are current or former band mates and getting to see them play is always pretty cool. This band is tricky. While everything is as awesome as you expect it to be, there are these subtle additions/subtractions always slinking in and out of the set. You think there’s two of them and then there’s three of them, you think this song starts like this and now there’s a sweet new intro, or you’ve been dancing around and stop to realize that you don’t recognize the last 3 songs because they’re brand new. MCF is a super fun band.

Have I mentioned how excited I am to see these bands?

What else do we need to know?

Read the credits on this thing. Find these artists, musicians, photographers, designers, etc. and see what’s going on in your creative community! (Note: IWTAS’ own Annie McCance designed the Time Is Gold album art. Hashtag shameless cross-promotion.)

The Kicker: Leave us a comment below for a chance attend the release show for free (entry comes with a copy of the album), courtesy of The Union Electric. Contest ends at 4pm on Friday. We’re looking forward to seeing you.