I have seen Goldenboy a few times now, and since they had a release party for their upcoming new album, entitled ‘The New Familiar’ at the Bootleg theater, I got the chance to see them again on Wednesday night.
The album was recorded and produced at Shon Sullivan’s studio in Silverlake, but as he is someone who has worked with many different indie bands in the past, his music seems to have absorbed a lot of different influences, while developing its own sound served by this excellent band. The first time I heard about Goldenboy was already a long time ago, when they released an album called ‘Blue Swan Orchestra’ featuring a track, ‘Summertime’ with Elliott Smith’s vocals. Baptized ‘Goldenboy’ by Smith himself, the band still gets its inspiration from the late songwriter’s memory, and their label Eenie Meanie is about to re-released ‘Blue Swan Orchestra’ for its 10th anniversary. As a matter of fact, a few Elliott Smith’s songs were played before their arrival on stage, and I think that J. Chiba’s presence at the show had something to do with this unexpected DJ’s choice.
Of course I will have to listen to the new songs again, but on Wednesday night, the quartet showed a large variety of buoyant and upbeat rhythms with really pleasant vocal harmonies between Shon Sullivan and Nicole Verhamme. There was still plenty of nostalgia, as if they wanted to assimilated several decades of music in songs such as the light and fragile ‘Today’s the Day’, which seems to invite us in the most straightforward way to just enjoy the moment. But some songs were fuzzier with a shoegazing tendency and more buried vocals like ‘Steal Your Face’, whereas lightness and effortlessness seem to be the words of the night.
There were clashing guitars dueling with each other, some solo turning into fast or soothing tumults, songs fast recovering from dark synth, other flirting between rock numbers and angst-y ballads, and giving Nicole Verhamme the occasion to show her great talent with several minute-long electric guitar solos. Overall, it was folk-rock softened by calm and almost-whispered vocals, but this wasn't fooling anyone, as these guys really delivered some dynamic and explosive music.
They still played songs of ‘Blue Swan Orchestra’, like the forever playful-dream-pop ‘Kittens of Lust’ and the melancholic but hopeful ‘Almost Perfect’, before doing the longest jam ever at the end of ‘Body and Soul’, changing and reinterpreting the epic song off their previous album ‘Sleepwalker’.
This was a sort of early release party since ‘The New Familiar’ will only out on November 20th but here is the trackslist:
1. The Walking Song
2. Today is the Day
3. Steal Your Face
4. The Right Chemistry
5. Soho's Empty
6. One of my Moods
7. Starlight Town
8. Just Say I Love You