Goldie Dawn: S/T 7″

Description

The lasting effect of constant exposure to the Rip Off Records back catalogue, Back From the Grave, and the general radiation of Destroy All Monsters has produced this 4 track guitar-athon. This is dripping with touches of the Electric Chairs, Kiss, and the Heartbreakers, but holds together as a blast of modern offering in the grande tradition of very loud guitars and loving rock and roll”. – Jonah Falco

Youre gonna enjoy Goldie Dawns debut EP. It begins with a crash of power chords. Nothing fancy, just the sound of Cheap Tricks Surrender being pushed down a fire escape. Almost immediately, it explodes into a bona fide garage-punk stormer, like Brian James finest Damned riffs bolstered by some serious bottom-shaking yes, were going there GROOVE. Gone With The Wild sashays and slinks around, even as it feels like its hurtling full throttle towards your skull. It is without doubt a tremendous slice of rock and/or roll.

Hailing from Glasgow, Goldie Dawns mighty racket is heralded by the dramatic presence of Kate Rambo on vocals and hers is a formidable snarl, with shades of Ludella Black and A Giant Dogs Sabrina Ellis. It meshes perfectly with the wall of sound concocted by her bandmates, equally capable of creating an addictive noise from the finest riffs in punks ignoble history (Crime) as they are of making a jauntily moving country ballad that twangs in all the right places (Its Nothing To Me).

Youve heard all these tricks before and no one heres ashamed to admit it; the trick is in the joy that emerges when the guitars are ablaze and Rambos at full pelt. Remember how the humble 7 used to feel like pops finest weapon on the front line? An explosive device loaded with hooks and delirium? So do Goldie Dawn. Raw, fun and whats that word the broadsheet writers use to describe records that feel like classics even as youre hearing them for the first time? Oh yeah: timeless. If youre gonna wear out your stylus, playing this on repeat for the rest of existence would be a worthy cause.

Our take: Drunken Sailor brings us the debut release from this Scottish band, and if youre a fan of high-energy, catchy, and biting garage-punk, its worth a listen. Two of the tracks, Gone with the Wild and Whats Inside (Never Dies) are high-speed punkers that remind me of the Carbonas or (as Jonah Falcos blurb notes) the Rip Off Records catalog. My favorite track, though, is Crime, with its big, mid-paced metallic riff that would have been a highlight of the Runaways catalog. Its not unlike the classic hardcore dirge, where you drop the tempo and tilt the scales toward hard rather than fast. The EP ends with the country-tinged Its Nothing to Me, which leaves me wondering if its possible to pin Goldie Dawn down. This EP is an embarrassment of riches, and it makes me very curious to hear where Goldie Dawn might go from here.