All Words by Lee Hodkinson
Successfully taking strands from various venerated musical muses (Radiohead , Nine Inch Nails, Mogwai, Four Tet, Ian Brown), ambient / electronic / indie / call-'em-what-you-will four piece Goldroom show their influences yet avoid making music which sounds like an impersonal composite of others' styles, by skillfully weaving together an intimate sound which is heavyweight yet interspersed with sublime moments of light relief.
On the powerhouse 'Ryu' vocalist Joe Bond's voice suggests a young, sleep deprived Lemmy tussling with a sizzurp - sozzled Cobain. A gang of diverse musical movements from the past two decades wrestle each other below his tortured vocals: psychedelic baggy swirls meet drum and bass BPMs head - on whilst contorted rock riffs bend beneath their own weight in a glorious musical mêlée. 'Hooligans of Doom' is Radiohead meets Massive Attack, the calm surface poked and prodded by nagging white noise until the climax, where wasp - like buzzes and frozen synths twist the tormented lullaby into the soundtrack to an Oxide Pang flick. 'Hanoi' hints at a funked - up Four Tet remix to Keith's take on 'La Retournelle' with a surprising spring in step.Disenchanted with 'bunny ear's irony and 'stupid is the new smart' dogma high on hype and short on substance? Not up for neon, instead reaching for darker shades of Radiohead and NIN nuances? Fancy foreboding funk, bleak beauty and a whole other world of goodness? Take a shine to the brilliance of Goldroom.
