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.