LITTLE GOLD – Weird Freedom (Part 2 of 2)

Grab your Funyuns, Jenn and Zach wrap up the Little Gold Weird Freedom dialectic musing on the perils of a falsetto voice, life in a cubicle, and J Mascis. Also the “Mike Swan” video which there’s no freaking way it’s not from the early 90s. They’re taking “nostalgia rock” to a whole new level with this one.

Little Gold – “Mike Swan”

(How is this video not from 1993?)

From: Jennifer Lao
To: Zach Evans

Zach,

You know the safety tip, “Don’t run with scissors”? It applies to typing also. Be thankful you didn’t poke your eye out. Even more so, be thankful you have two.

The main album DeRoeck produced with Woods, How to Survive In/In the Woods, wasn’t a great one. It sounds very “hey, guys check out what we recorded in my parents’ garage.”  The albums Woods have produced since sound much more mature and rich, though I do classify them as a stove-pipe band. Maybe that’s why DeRoeck split. Though I do like Woods, I think their range is limited; they hit a narrow spectrum with their sound and it’s easy to OD on them. Like the Shins, they can pump out a few noteworthy songs and everything else sounds the same. Ah the perils of having a distinct, high-pitched voice. Perhaps that’s why I appreciate Little Gold.

Weird Freedom can be listened to without considering how you’re feeling, what the weather is like outside, and what you ate for dinner last night. It’s fun and I can put it on and space out for a bit without wondering if my ears will be bleeding by the end of the album. Like you said, you listened to it at work, at home, and the wifey even dug it. 3 for 3. My point is Woods is to Little Gold as an apple is to an orange.

Little Gold covers more range in their music. They speed things up in “Mike Swan,” slow things down in “Bad Habits,” and the whole time you’re swaying to the music and you don’t even realize it. And the horns! How did I miss the horns in Mike Swan!? Well noted, Zach. So we both agree, their album is a good and fun one, not a Funyun (do people still eat those?). Now will that translate on stage? Dunno, but I’m definitely game to find out.

Parting words, I think these guys made an album that will hold up. It will be interesting to see where they go from here; I do expect more albums in the future.

“Your bad habit was my favorite thing about you.”

Jenn

Listen to the Weird Freedom on Bandcamp.

From: Zach Evans
To: Jennifer Lao

Jenn,

I think you really hit the nail on the head with your last email. I pretty much agree with everything, except your assessment of Funyuns (which I love and still eat). If I put on an Avett Brothers album, I need to be prepared for an emotional rollercoaster ride. If I decide to listen to some Band of Horses, I know I’m going to spend a lot of time staring out the window pondering life’s important questions. There is a lot of great music that I can only listen to when I’m in the right mood, but Weird Freedom is an album I can put on anytime. That’s not to say it lacks emotional depth, but rather it’s an emotionally balanced album that effectively mixes fun tracks with more introspective tunes. On top of that, there’s real variety in their sound (as you noted), and, with a tight running time of 30 minutes, the album leaves you satisfied and looking forward to the next listen.

I’ve been thinking a lot about vocal style when listening to Little Gold, particularly in comparison to the Neil Young-ish vocals of Jeremy Earl in Woods. Christian DeRoeck’s voice has been reminding me of another singer, and I finally realized it was J Mascis from Dinosaur Jr. They both have a scratchy, world-weary sound that I love. I wouldn’t put DeRoeck in the same league as Mascis yet, but if he continues to develop as a singer then we should be in for some great music down the line.

I’ll end by highlighting a song that you wrote about in your first email, but which I’ve only recently come to appreciate: “Oh, Dad!” It’s not a very remarkable song musically, but the lyrics are an awesome rant against settling for a life as an office drone, seemingly sung from the perspective of an angry teenager questioning his dad. “You gonna take a job and say ‘this’ll do,’ man what happened to all them songs?” As you noted, it has more of a punk sound than the other tracks on Weird Freedom, but I feel like lyrically it really captures the ethos of the band. They’re making rock music and having a blast; they may never become famous or make a ton of cash, but they’ll be damned if they’re ever going to give up and work in a cubicle. And that’s good news for us.

“You gonna watch them all climb higher than you, like you was scared to climb too high.”

Zach

Weird Freedom is out via Loud Baby Sounds. Get it here! It’s cheap!