Golden

Phil Manley
Alex Minoff
Jon Theodore
Ian Eagleson



Golden - Golden Summer CD (SLW28)




'Golden Summer' Golden's musical language, while still on it's way to reaching its full potential, has taken a broad step in their lastest presentation, 'Golden Summer'. This talented formation of young musicians, who have recently celebrated their seventh year together, have composed and recorded a set of 9 songs that move in a somewhat different direction then their previous efforts.

Last year's internationally acclaimed 'Super Golden Original Movement' found the band trekking across continents in search of fresh sounds in instrumental guitar music. On 'Golden and Rhythm-Beat Jazz,' the widely sought after follow-up EP, the group could be heard beckoning listeners to their dancefloor. Reacting to the disc's insistent polyrhythms, as well as to it's additions of horns and vocals, Golden fans couldn't help but respond to the invitation, all the while wondering "What's next?". After a sweaty July US tour with Make-Up, Golden set themselves up in Washington D.C's National Recording Studio to answer that very question. This Spring the questions will cease, as Slowdime Records presents "Golden Summer".

Not contenting themselves with a static approach, Golden have infused this new album with a sense of action and expectation. For the members of this unit, values go beyond those used in production. Notions of honor, pride and work share equal billing with mastering dynamics and impeccable tone. However, while "Golden Summer" does feature a wide range of new rythms - from the Sisyphean drive of "Recital (Spindac Volare)" to the pensive guitar syncopations of "Army Worms" - it is not at the expense of the group's trademark sythesis of blues rock and equator sounds. Witness "Executive Outcomes", a purely Gibbonsonian flight over a mourning Bamako. Or the monolithic majesty of "Golden", a monument to melodic rhythm that stands as tall as the obelisk at Axum. Combining consistent use of vocals with continued commitment to arual adventures has turned these Golden boys into Golden men. Whether on guitar or bass (and occasionally Fender Rhodes and Nyatiti, and eight-stringed Kenyan Lyre) Eagleson, Minoff and Manley weave a web of spidery maturity unheard of until now. And, as always, the rollings of Thoedore's drums traverse new horizons while providing bedrock foundation. Golden have recently completed a European tour with their otherselves Trans-Am. Both bands recieved rave reviews, and Golden are planning to return in the new year.