ARTIST: Goldspot
TITLE: Tally Of The Yes Men
LABEL: Union Records
GENRE: Indie
TIME: 41:12 min
SIZE: 60,7 MB
RIP DATE: Jun-17-2005
RELEASE DATE: Jun-14-2005
WEBSITE: n/a
Track List:
01. Rewind 03:34
02. Cusp 02:56
03. Friday 04:18
04. The Guard 03:00
05. Timebomb 04:12
06. It's Getting Old 04:10
07. The Feel Good Program Of The Year 03:54
08. So Fast 03:24
09. The Assistent 04:06
10. Motorcade 04:56
11. In The Post 02:42
Release Notes:
"Songcraft" is a word that comes up a lot in music
reviews, but it's a word I keep fixating on when
thinking about Tally of the Yes Men, the terrific
debut album from the L.A. band Goldspot. As with,
say, the Pernice Brothers, Goldspot have a truly
impressive handle on song construction, on crafting
catchy melodies and setting them in the right
context. Their songs communicate emotions û
generally a feeling of being lost in the world ("I
feel like I'm drowning this time / the world seems
to laugh out loud"), sometimes coupled with the
feeling of being saved, or at least the hope of
being saved by someone. Yet those emotions are
closely tied to the strength of the melodies; you
feel what they're singing and playing because of how
they're doing it, not just because of the words
themselves. Musically, Goldspot's streamlined,
modern pop-rock could be comfortably placed
somewhere along a timeline of post-The Bends
alternative rock. It's not hard to hear both Thom
Yorke and Jeff Buckley in lead singer Siddhartha's
voice, or to hear the casual atmospherics of both
Radiohead and their American contemporaries
Granddaddy in Goldspot's sound, whether all of this
is there intentionally or not. Yet there's also a
strong influence of bands from the decade before.
The Smiths, in particular, emerge here and there,
most obviously on "It's Getting Old". But it's the
Smiths' melodic approach that Goldspot seems to be
drawing from, not Morrissey's high drama or the
group's political bent. While listening to a melody
as perfect as those on the catchy first track
"Rewind" or the stark ballad "So Fast", you get the
sense that Goldspot have spent a lot of time
listening to songs by bands who fit gorgeous
melodies over rock guitars, taking notes and waiting
for the chance to unleash their own powerful songs
on unsuspecting ears. That time is now, and Tally of
the Yes Men is impressive indeed.