EP Review - Golden Bloom - No Day Like Today

I dare you to listen to Golden Bloom and not get a smile on your face. There is something about this band that makes me instantly happy. Golden Bloom is another band that I was introduced to at the Outlaw Roadshow in New York City during CMJ back in October. I was impressed by their set and when I got home I downloaded their previous album Fan the Flames and their Daytrotter session. Golden Bloom combines just the right amount of rock and pop together to create a jaunty, jovial, lively sound while adding depth with singer/songwriter Shawn Fogel's lyrics. The band carries the happy-go-lucky sound into their new EP No Day Like Today. Sure, the record has some mellower, not as peppy songs, but still, they make me smile.

The four piece band of multi-instrumentalists, Shawn Fogel (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano/keyboard, percussion,) Josh Cohen (bass guitar, piano/keyboards, electric guitar, percussion,) Jeff Patlingrao (electric guitars, bass guitar,) and Justin Hofmann (drums, percussion) take Fogel's lyrics and masterfully turn them into some of the best pop-rock tunes I've heard in a long time. The only bad thing I have to say about No Day Like Today is that it's too short, only 5 tracks. I know it's a EP, but still, it leaves me wanting more.

The record opens with the poppy, springy track Flying Mountain. Hidden behind Fogel's sunny, uplifting vocals are lyrics of an overactive, anxiety ridden mind, much like my own can be. Maybe that's why I like this song so much, it totally hits home. Deliver It For Me takes the tone of the record down a notch for it's four minutes. The song's flowy sound is supported with piano and backed with guitars, and is helped along with backing vocals from Kayln Rock. The more I listen to this song, the less I want to attempt to guess that the lyrics might mean. To me it's kind of a questioning of beliefs, questioning of everything you've never been taught, but what do I know?

The mood is lifted right back up as we flow into Shadow of a Man, a twangy, up tempo romp reminding me of something straight out of the mid 1980's. The kids from The Breakfast Club could have danced to this song (for reals, I played the song over the dance scene and it totally worked. Try it.) Again the lyrics don't really fit with the feel of the song; the tune seeming too happy for the words. This is one of the things I love about Fogel's songs, you're listening to this happy, peppy, catchy tune and then all of a sudden you're hearing the lyrics and it's like, "wait, what? Genius." My favorite line from Shadow of a Man is:
Once was numb now just  look how far I've come, and how well I've learned to play the game," because, really, who hasn't felt like that once in their lives?

White Whale is less pop-ish and more rock-ish, with a slightly dark feeling to it, employing some epic power guitar chords and dreamy string arrangements. White Whale contains another one of my favorite Golden Bloom lyrics:
"You and I were once a pair of innocent and hollow eyes, staring off into the endless night of no tomorrow"
I love the imagery of this song, using the age old analogy of one's white whale, one's Moby Dick. The EP closes out with Lone Reporter. Opening with a single acoustic guitar, then enter Fogel's melancholy, haunting vocals, building up to the full band with slide-y guitars and dark piano, rounding back out to an outro of the acoustic guitar.

From start to finish, No Day Like Today is fantastic. I can't wait for more from this band. I'd love to see them live again (if only there weren't so many miles and states between Washington and the eastern sea board.) No Day Like Today will be released Jan 29, 2013. Till then check out Golden Bloom's website for all things Golden Bloom, and then next week, get the record.

Album Review - Jimmy/Immy Live At Rockwood Music Hall

Here is another album on which I'm a little late to the game. I've had this album on my list of "Records to Buy" for a while, but didn't until last week. Coming into this album, I didn't know anything about James Maddock or his music. However, I love me some Immy, so for me that was reason enough to get it. And since then, it's pretty much all I've been listening to. I have fallen into this album heart first, head over heals, and there's no way of getting out of it.

Released July 17, 2012, this album is just as the name implies: James Maddock and David Immergück, at the Rockwood Music Hall in New York City, doing a super simple, yet brilliantly played, acoustic set with Maddock on guitar and harmonica and Immergück on guitar and, one of my most favorite things, mandolin.

British born James Maddock brings the best that the singer/songwriter package has to offer.  Immediately I was drawn into his singing, his songwriting, his guitar. His songs are stories; stories of love, stories of heartache, stories that resonate so deep into your soul that you're never going to be rid of them. He presents to you these stories with a voice that is the perfect level of gravelly-ness, like a more soothing, friendlier Rod Stewart, or a less scary Tom Waits.

The pairing with David Immergück makes this record perfect. Immergück is best known for his work with Counting Crows and is probably one of the most underrated guitar/mandolin/whatever players out there. I've only seen the man preform live five times, but each time I'm completely blown away by/infatuated with his skills with a stringed instrument. The record is flawless start to finish. Within the first 24 seconds of the first track, Straight Lines, you're immediately drawn into the simple, captivating brilliance of these 13 songs. You almost feel as if they are singing these songs directly to you, playing just for you. 

One of my favorite songs on the record is Never Ending. This heartbreaking song of separation, of loss, of distance, of memories of a good friend, showcases not only Maddock's imagery evoking songwriting, but also Immergück's abilities to make a guitar sing right to you, to make it sound like it's telling the story too. My other favorite is When The Sun's Out. I really love this song. I love songwriters who can write songs that make you think, songs that you can listen to a dozen times, but then suddenly there's one line that hits you differently, that just knocks you on your butt. This happened to me with When the Sun's Out, I was listening to it for like the 6th time the other day, and this line jumped out at me:

 I feel things so deeply that I know one day I'm bound to crack,

 but that's a long way off for me, so till then keep me company.

I'm not sure what exactly it was about that moment, why it affected me so much. We've all encountered that one song, the one where it's impossible to explain to someone why you love it, how it makes you feel, and this is one of those songs. One thing that I know to be true about this song though, is that it shows off David Immergück's unequivocal mandolin prowess; the dude's got skills. The mandolin on this song gives you the feeling of a sunny day, even if it's the middle of winter and 20° outside.

Other highly recommended tracks (though, like always, I really recommend them all) - Wake Up and Dream, Fragile, Whole Lot to Think About, Hollow Love (more amazing mandolin madness) and Old Old Woodstock (Van Morrison cover)

There aren't enough good adjectives in my brain to describe how amazing this record is. Like I said, I have fallen head over heels for it. I'm excited for Maddock's new record due out in the next few months (you can go here to pre-order it)

This video isn't from the recording of this album, it is from Maddock and Immergück's Italian tour last year (I just think this one is über adorable)