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The first thing to strike you (well, more stroke you)
upon entrance is the sound. Which may seem like a completely
ridiculous thing to say on an occasion like this, but
it does. You see, it is stories deep, barely held up,
like a high-rise house of cards built painstakingly
in the absolute calm. We appear to be hearing what can
only be described as the sound of the sound, rather
than what we’ve been cajoled into accepting as sound
from far too many years of second-rate speakers and
engineers. And we like it. This is obviously the very
last scenario we’d ever put say The Parkinsons in, if
we wanted to enjoy them at all, but Goldrush are a band
with ‘handle with care’ ever so slightly sponged across
their foreheads. If they were ever bruised (or dropped
on their heads, like Gomez) things would obviously degenerate
very quickly. Here is a band that don’t just deserve
a bit of delicacy, they need it.
And tonight they get it, and sound immediately glorious
for it. If the album didn’t always lift off where it
should have (which it didn’t), seeming dulled by the
fact that it just didn’t follow the breadth of character
and ambition that those first couple of singles and
b-sides hinted at in spades, then its like they’re finishing
dealing their full hand right now. Buried amid a myriad
of melodies and rhythms, always bound by a central pillar
of equal strength and fragility in singer Robin – however
that manifests itself in each song – you can hear their
folksy indie acoustica literally growing like ivy around
your ears. It’s not like it’s particularly sideways
at all, a Gorkys’ backwardness that ebbs out on record
occasionally is smoothed over live, just that it is
really strong songwriting with lightly built but solid
foundations. And as we don’t hear much of its sort these
days you can forget how satisfying it can be.
Where previous single, the magnificent ‘Pioneers’, lifts
off with a surging warm thrust of distortion half way,
jabbing tenderly at your expectation, or when ‘Let You
Down’ ascends in spirals towards the end or as the incredible
lilting ‘Don’t Bring Me Down’ blossoms, it’s like an
estranged friend appearing out of the low hubbub of
the crowd. Where Radiohead (with whom similarities extend
just beyond Oxford’s borders) fire between gentle and
spiky phonics to emphasise the two sides of their coin,
Goldrush just want you to concentrate on the most intricate
side and realise how deep it’s etched. And while they
look young, or fresh faced and first-time-eager, experience
is something you seriously doubt they lack (aside from
the fact you know they’re already running an inspirational
label and annual festival). In fact they draw you in
with an urge to learn from them. And you know they’d
look after you.
James Berry for Crud Magazine© 2002
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| 08/02 Beachwood Sparks Interview
08/02 Coldplay - A Rush Of Blood To The Head
08/02 Goldrush - Don't Bring Me Down
08/02 Montgolfier Brothers Interview
08/02 Wilco - Interview - Jeff Tweedy
09/02 Apples In Stero Interview
09/02 Audio Vent Interview - Band Of Brothers
09/02 Beck - Sea Change Listening Party
09/02 Bon Jovi - Everyday
09/02 Peter Gabriel - UP - Signal To Noise Ratio
09/02 Ikara Colt - Live - 100 Club, London
09/02 Joy Zipper - Ron
09/02 Kathryn Williams - No One Takes You Home
09/02 Carling Weekend Leeds Festival
09/02 Noise Therapy - Interview - Ron Thiessen
09/02 Splender Interview
10/02 Dragpipe Interview
10/02 Foo Fighters - One By One
10/02 Goldrush - Live - Camden, Dingwalls
10/02 Hell Is For Heroes - Live - Brixton Academy , London
|  | 10/02 Jetplane Landing - Live - Grage , London
10/02 Kinesis - Live - Grage , London
10/02 Ladytron - Seveteen
10/02 Longwave - Live - Water Rats, London
10/02 My Computer - Live - Camden Monarch, London
10/02 Polyphonic Spree - Tour Dates
10/02 Silvertide Interview
10/02 Simian - Live - Bethnal Green Working Men's Club, London
10/02 System of A Down - Steal This Album
10/02 Talib Kweli - Quality
12/02 A - Live - Brixton Academy, London
12/02 Audio Bullys - We Don't Care
12/02 Aurelius 7 Interview
12/02 Burning Brides Interview
12/02 D4 - Live - Mean Fiddler, London
12/02 Kickrollers
12/02 Top Ten Albums 2002
January 2001
July - August 2001
September - October 2001
November - December 2001
January - March 2002
April - July 2002
August - December 2002 | |
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