Album Review-Golden Silvers: True Romance

It is often the convention, when reviewing a record to leave the verdict until the end of the article but I’m not one for mincing words. This is one of the few records I have heard in recent years that I have decided to review just so I can justify listening to it for the thirtieth time in one day. I love it.

Golden Silvers are what one might refer to as “retro-pop” with each track giving a bold nod to the 1980s in one way or another. The title track for example, begins with a pulsating drum pattern and glistening synthesizer chords that are almost reminiscent of Duran Duran (Microsoft word has just offered me the option to “delete repeated word.” What a joker!).

The second single from the record, entitled Please Venus is ultimately a track about unrequited love and a girl who wants out of a relationship. This track is very much suited to commercial shopping playlists, not to say that it is lacking in interest but it is certainly one of their most sonically subdued efforts. Having said that the lyric commences with seriously powerful imagery:

“She was a murderess, in a million dollar dress.”

“Beneath those wide, dark eyes, she was never satisfied.”

This dark imagery is prominent throughout the record but is often coupled with an upbeat musical accompaniment making for an enthralling juxtaposition of emotion.

The most extreme variation from the quintessential Golden Silvers retro-indie-electro sound comes in the form of the closing track Fade to Black which sees the band venture into bona fide ballad territory. This track marks the end of the album True Romance with a track about the closing stages of a relationship, almost giving the record a concept album vibe, moving through the motions of a relationship from start to finish in a similar manner to that of Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys.

“I don’t want you to go because I know I’ll want you back but the fantasy it fades to black.”




For fans of: Mystery Jets, Vampire Weekend, and The Rumble Strips.

No Such Thing as a Free Lunch?

Recently I’ve been pondering the concept of freeganism and wondering if ever I could embrace this anti-trendy fad. It seems that the few people who can justify embracing this lifestyle choice have the power to make this bin diving exercise seem at the very least sensible, if not beautiful. That is not to say that seeing an upstanding member of the public attempting a triple somersault in the pike position straight into a bin just for a piece of chicken is likely to become commonplace.

With prices skyrocketing even in our once ever so cheap superstores and the recession hitting hard the public were always going to go to some extremes to get by. With the return of wartime television show “Make Do and Mend” a new era of money saving technique has emerged. Freeganism enables a consumer to get supermarket produce for free, without all that pesky hassle of having to choose.

Despite being technically against the law, it is very unlikely that you will ever get stopped for this activity, largely because you will come across as incredibly self confident but also because, if we’re honest, you may look a bit mad! A much more socially accepted version of the freeganist mentality could be embraced by solely shopping between the hours of 20.00 and 21.00 when most supermarkets reduce food by the bucket load.

If money is an issue then freeganism is not a bad soloution but you may have to swallow your pride, as a starter if you like.  

Malice: An Afterthought

Teeth crunch inexpensive plastic as Daniel gives the figures one last read. The pen lid folds without resistance, much to his satisfaction. Leaning back on the chair he sighs almost in synch with the noise of the seating itself. Were it not for the mutual understanding of his colleagues and the fundamentally mature attitude to the working environment surrounding him, Daniel may have expected the noise to provoke a ripple of laughter throughout the room. Alas, after four long and tedious years in the company he has resigned himself to the fact that this juvenile humour was far from in fashion in this realm.

“Proof read complete” he mutters in a robot-like manner, giggling slightly. Sucking in a restrained breath he pushes the plastic beneath his fingertip and a file sails across the ether.

The moment of realisation that followed proved to be both terrifying and liberating to degrees Daniel Lesley had yet to experience at the tender age of 24 years, 3 months and 9 days. The emotion would be later referred to as “hitting him like a train” although as he had not yet been hit by a train, this was merely speculation.

The face of adversity was prettier than Daniel had first imagined. This was a welcome surprise given his frequent flirting with said aspect. The time had truly arrived for Daniel to willingly relinquish his role as a chartered accountant or have the title forcefully removed by a higher power (within the company, although one could argue that this situation was an example of divine intervention ushering our protagonist from his current purgatory to the job centre).

Pushing his desk and therefore wheeling backwards with some vigour, Mr Lesley began to see the world in a different light. Sure, it was quintessentially rose-tinted due almost entirely to an intense hit of adrenaline and stress but somehow every bone his body began to feel uncontrollably alive. Daniel is now aware that in giving him a new lease of life the realisation hitting him “like a train” was undeniably ironic.

Now freed from the shackles of his desk, both metaphorically and literally (the low-budget mouse wire had lovingly embraced his footwear for the four-hundred and seventy-third time) Daniel ceremonially removes the striped silk noose from his neck that had gifted Tie Rack the sum of £14.99 just three days prior.

Leather triumphs over laminate with each stride towards the door. The handle, cold in his grasp, turns reluctantly. The following seconds will stay with Daniel forever. A silhouette can be so ominous but a visible scowl often all the more so.

“You’re looking smart today Dan”

The sarcastic sentiment echoes from the cornflower white partition as a top button hits the floor. In his haste, Daniel flicks what is colloquially referred to as “the Vs.” Accompanying these with plenty of verbal expletives Daniel launches his ten-minute tirade boss-wards with the kind of execution the French revolutionaries would be proud of.

“Well, if that’s how you feel...”

A murmur rumbles on as Daniel makes with haste his escape. A ripple, not of laughter but of stunned silence engulfs the office.

In hitting rock bottom, Daniel has found himself in the rather powerful position of being effectively invincible within his current environment. On the one hand, each of his peers is significantly better off with the benefit of financial security cushioning them from the real world. On the other, Daniel is the only person of the 678 employees of McCauley Incorporated with the power to choose what becomes of tomorrow.  Mr Lesley lives the dream.

In truth, there were few people at McCauley that Daniel would miss. Theresa, the secretary that Daniel would often exchange somewhat convoluted pleasantries with would be the main casualty in his eyes. This was largely down to her aesthetics but she was easy enough to talk to.

As Daniel leaves the building for the final time, he feels as free as a bird. Little does he know how free he will become... 

OC/DC: Living precisely 1.6 centimetres from the edge. PART 1.

Life on the road can be gruelling for any musician. The lack of sleep, the drugs, the drink, the obsessive urge to count each and every lamppost at night and the prolonged absence of normality could drive any ordinary band mad. OC/DC are no ordinary band.

Meet Vance, lead singer of the Angus Young approved tribute act.

"When I joined the band I had real difficulty fitting in to the live set up. I feel this may be largely due to my need for at least 3 metres of personal space at any one given moment but in truth I cannot be sure. I really took a shine to the way the guys only ever set their pedals up at perfect right angles to the stage due to Tommy's 90 degree fixation. This is pure rock and roll!"

This fixation was to cause serious friction within the band when ex-bassist Frankie Firewalk left the band in order to pursue a career with Eurhythmics tribute act The Neurotics.  In stepped Steven Hilson, a technically gifted player with a fine eye for detail accompanied by a serious love of acute angles...

"At this stage some of us really thought this could mark the end of our career as the third most popular AC/DC tribute act ever, we really feared for our individual incomes. Not that it is all about the money... It's also about the number 7."

Fights would break out in almost every rehearsal. These became synonymous with the band's daily routine and would take place every 37 minutes between the hours of 3 and 6. Due to this regularity, fans began to film the perfectly choreographed scenes, resulting in a barrage of negative press attention.

The tour bus was a well organised jumble sale, Tommy's hoarding mentality meant that nothing was thrown away, simply left for Vance to file alphabetically. Steven developed a serious problem with the idea of lucky charms, keeping one fan on tour for forty dates resulting in three dead goldfish, one lost job and a complaint from the council about "below par hedgerow maintenance."