Drunken Sailor Records – May 29, 2020
Goldie Dawn does garage punk to sing and dance to.
Goldie Dawn are trashy grooved garage punk from the UK. Braced by raunchy and buzzing production and a wall of guitars, vocalist Kate Rambo snarls and rips her way through. There’s no messing around here.
Goldie Dawn is a fun beast. The sound on here is pure rock and roll. There’s nothing to connect Goldie Dawn to right now, and nothing that they’ll have to explain away in ten years. Put this on and you’ll hear pieces of rock and roll history all over the place. Chuck Berry riffs bounce against wailing lead guitars that sound ripped from a Blue Cheer record here and a Stooges record there. Johnny Thunders echoes all over the place. Even a little bit of Damned swagger.
The first couple of songs on Goldie Dawn are stunning. Opener “Gone With The Wild” works through some bouncy Berry-like punk riffs and trashy no-nonsense drums and Rambo delivers the vocal hooks. And then “Crime” manages to follow up with more fireworks. Opening with raucous feedback, fuzzy guitars stutter and sputter and drums build to a mid-tempo stomper. And again Rambo, in a cocky and snotty snear, comes alive, spitting out words like “smash it up, be alive”. And then this is topped with a wailing guitar lead over the final minute that feels like it’s been ripped from the clutches of Stooges “Raw Power”. The third song, “What’s Inside (Never Dies)” falls into this same line. It’s a great one, too. Just doesn’t have the same power after the sheer exhilaration of the first two songs. But again, great hooks, especially on the chorus.
Goldie Dawn surprises as it closes. “It’s Nothing To Me” is a rambling, meandering countrified take, with flashes of warbling guitar noise trembling in the background as Rambo sings a fatalistic story. It’s a shambling twang wreck and an interesting choice, but just adds to the endearing and ageless charm of the record.
Goldie Dawn is on to something here. In eleven minutes, they bring up the ghosts of primal rock and roll without ever sounding derivative. You’re going to want to sing along, you’re going to want to dance, and you’re going to want to catch Goldie Dawn live. Enjoy.
Why you might like this:
- Raw music + raw recordings = fire
- Great guitars and charismatic, potent singing
Why you might not:
- Bluesy, boogie-inspired riffs might turn off those who only like their punk groove-free
- Raw production (sounds timeless to me, but might turn away others)
ryan is a reviewer and news editor for TGEFM. He’s very secretive, he might be an alien.
