We just can’t help but feel a little jaded at the constant need of the music industry to make everyone the Next Big Thing, or the next soundalike to the last big thing. It so often misses the point, as well as missing the bands that really are making some great non-derivative music. Happily, against that backdrop of sound-a-like bands and hyperbole-heavy PR campaigns, Goldheart Assembly have remained a refreshingly difficult band to pin down. The seemingly overwhelming urge of critics to label the band as the new Fleet Foxes has sidetracked somewhat from the hidden treasures that the London six-piece are serving up. This isn’t Americana folk music, this is classically English pop music, unashamedly melodic, undeniably harmonious and entirely organic in its make up. And what a breath of fresh air it is.
On “Wolves and Thieves” the band’s debut album, the songs that have been quietly charming the pants off live audiences for over a year get served up for some more considered delectation. Happily the live staples are all here, from the dusky organ-led charms of debut single “So Long St Christopher” to the impossibly epic torch song that is “Last Decade”. But it’s the more recent addition, “King of Rome”, that opens the album with a thrilling blaze of energy, Jim Dale’s skyscraping vocals glittering across a chorus as catchy as anything we’ve heard this year. Typically of the band, the heady rush of “King of Rome” is followed by an early look at the band’s other side, in the form of the richly painted but lingeringly delicate “Anvil” a slow burning, wistful and genuinely gorgeous reflection on erm…love? Or large pieces of metal, perhaps? And right there in the first two songs is the heart of the band, the contrast between the soft balladry and the rocking anthems, the light and shade, the humour and sorrow — all wrapped up in a whirl of poignant yet thoroughly enigmatic lyrics.
And the Assembly name is appropriate. While main singers Jim Dale and John Herbert catch the eye and ear with their easy going charm and soaring vocals, this is a band where every contribution matters. The work of multi-instrumentalist Tom Hastings and Jake Bowser, whose delicious organ playing is the bedrock upon which the album’s softer moments are grounded, is sheer pleasure. Dominic Keshavarz’s lead guitar is the glue that holds things together, chiming in at appropriate moments, emphasizing, cajoling, embellishing, but never overplaying its hand, while drummer Nicky Francis is making a strong case for being our favourite singing drummer since Don Henley…
There are natural radio hits on here aplenty, but the band actually have a mischievous side that likes to mess with any preconceptions. The unexpectedly trippy “Reminder” emerges like some ghostly carnival ride soundtrack, all smoke, mirrors and a hooky little riff that won’t leave you alone. The reworked “Jesus Wheel” is transformed into a moody and slightly trippy ballad, full of the clank and hiss of the steam museum where it was recorded. And then suddenly “Under the Waterway” emerges, a stunning harmonious anthem as beautiful as anything they have written. And we haven’t even mentioned “Engraver’s Daughter” or “Boulevards”.
This is music as bewitching as a long weekend with Merlin’s slightly more skilled but more erratic younger brother. It’s music which threatens to revoke pop’s status as a dirty word. Stunning as it is at times, it also never loses its sense of playfulness and while it’s not perfect, it is gorgeous and totally refuses to conform to the current trends. Thank goodness for that, and let’s hope it’s a prelude to future glories aplenty.
9/10
“Wolves and Thieves” is released on 15 March on Fierce Panda.
