Erase the grey: Golden Bloom’s “Flying Mountain” a nugget of winter bliss
And when the morning starts
What’s left behind is where the broken hearts lay
Let’s proclaim there’s no day like today
Shawn Fogel sings of too many thoughts and ideas floating around his head sometimes and few among us will fail to relate. Thankfully his music with Golden Bloom keeps the clutter at bay, vividly waking us from those pre-Holiday blues with a shining nugget of pop like nothing you’ll hear on the radio. “Flying Mountain,” off the band’s latest album No Day Like Today, gently cuts through all that noise we’re inundated with on a daily basis — Fogel suggests if there’s a flood of information, maybe we should simply ride the surf. Hints of darkness within the mix have been very much overblown by the band’s press material, but no matter; there’s always enough darkness to go around elsewhere. What we need now is a shelter from the storm, with enough pop in the mix to make the feet dance. Everything else is gravy.
UNDER COVER: Gitar – “Hippie Dream”
Toronto's Gitar brings some serious urban grime to a Neil Young cover.
This isn’t your dad’s Neil Young, but if this teaser is a true hint of what’s to come with Gitar’s Seen As Unclean later this year, the results should be impressive. Toronto’s Gitar exists to bring eclectic beats into the world of rock and roll, which is certainly a worthy endeavor. On “Hippie Dream” we’re hit immediately by fuzzed out bass and popping synth percussion, as Mikhail Galkin layers his off-kilter vocals into the mix, the entire affair sounding as though it takes place in a world where we’re about half a minute away from succumbing to drowning — though that’s certainly not a terrible effect, once you’ve heard the whole thing and hit repeat a few times.
Hell, it’s a step up in pace from the lugubrious original by Young, which features slowed-down bass oppressive enough to fully suggest the death of the hippie aesthetic. According to the band’s press materials, this is the first time they’ve dared to take on the music of a Canadian legend. The finished product showcases their ability to live up to the challenge, and one hopes this won’t be the last time they throw caution to the wind and reach for something legendary. At the very least they don’t lack for balls.
