I can be kind of compulsive when it comes to my music. My album towers are freakishly neat, organized by artist and then release date of album and then soundtracks…not so weird until, of course, you start to compare that to the rest of my life, which tends to lean more towards cyclone-ravaged instead. <\/p>\n
And when it comes to buying music, for some reason I\u2019m big on research, delaying purchases until I can hit up Wikipedia and sample tracks on iTunes. But somehow, Atlanta, Georgia bluesy jam-rockers Golden managed to draw me in at first listen, enough to request a copy of this album, their debut, before even pausing to check out their MySpace. <\/p>\n
\u2026you, and everything\u2026<\/i>starts out on a strong note with \u201cCome Over,\u201d which makes the band\u2019s description of their sound as \u2018warm apple pie\u2019 and \u2018Christmas joy\u2019 move from strangely specific to spot-on instead. It\u2019s instantly obvious as single material, at first because of how easily listenable vocalist Joshua Golden is: like Adam Levine without being so grating, or an updated incarnation of David Gray. But behind the vocals is some fantastic instrumentation, like the hints of calypso that slip in during the bridge or the sophisticated guitar throughout, leading up to a strong solo break courtesy of electric guitarist Paul Marnell (not to forget the rest of the band: Bob Stepnicka on drums, bassist Schuyler Clark and pianist\/organist Jerry Loch, and aforementioned vocalist Golden also handling acoustic guitar and alto sax). <\/p>\n
The next few tracks continue along in the same vein, drawing you in with higher-energy material like \u201cMine,\u201d featuring Golden on sax; \u201cDrive,\u201d the harmonized choruses of which showcasing the band\u2019s melding voices; and the warm blues of \u201cLies,\u201d with its slowly unfurling guitar solo and engaging lyrics. Everyone I play the album for declares that last track as their favorite, too. <\/p>\n
The only song I find myself going past is \u201cLoving Star,\u201d mostly because of its twangy country beat; I think it\u2019s something that would translate onstage, but here it just distracts from the flow of the first half of the album and then ends up overshadowed right after by the dynamic build-up of \u201cWorse For Wear.\u201d But the next time they switch it up, on the subdued, piano-based \u201cHere,\u201d the introspective lyrics and subtle drums work to create the highlight of the second side. <\/p>\n
I know the tendency with most of us here on the Vault is to want to be more generous with up and coming acts, a part of us wanting to curb our criticism even if what we\u2019re listening to can sometimes be the equivalent of Paris Hilton\u2019s latest schlock (so much for hoping she\u2019d never be mentioned on here\u2026).\u00a0 Luckily, \u2026you, and everything <\/i>makes my job easier because it\u2019s deserving of actual, not just polite, praise, with its highs far outweighing any lows. And unlike Hilton, Golden absolutely deserve a record deal, though as of now they\u2019re unsigned. But take my word; I\u2019m sure one day these guys are going to get their deserved place right alongside counterparts Dave Mathews Band and Maroon 5. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":28500,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[7817],"rating":[5615],"class_list":["post-39959","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-golden","rating-rating-b"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39959"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39959\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=39959"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=39959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}