- London's Gwilym Gold got his break as the frontman of Golden Silvers, whose '09 album True Romance was a stylish tour through pop's past glories. The band broke up shortly after, and Gold went on to pursue a solo career that has, in places, fallen foul of its grand ambitions. 2012's Tender Metal was released only on the Bronze format, which shuffles each song's elements so that no two play-throughs will sound the same. A fascinating idea, but as it turned out, not a very accessible one.
Gold's follow-up, A Paradise, is billed as his debut album proper. Compared to Tender Metals' sparse synth-pop feel, this is a British art-pop album with a classic cut, a set of melancholic, piano-led songs whose rarefied mood harkens back to Radiohead or Talk Talk. In places, the Radiohead comparison is a little too on-the-nose, such as the clicky IDM percussion in "Breathless" and the semitonal sigh at the opening of "Flex," which is straight out of "Codex" from The King Of Limbs.
Lyrically, Gold doesn't use his grand platform to say all that much: his vague couplets rarely take on the poetic dimension that's presumably intended. (They do on "Evergreen": "Electric pulses push past / The miracle / Sky blue and aluminium.") Gold's lyrics and titles repeatedly mention bodies, breath and musculature, but the album's tone is ethereal, thanks to excellent string arrangements from Nico Muhly. Gold's use of a Magnetic Resonator Piano gives his playing an otherworldly glow of sustain. On the album's best tracks, this ghostly mood blossoms into full-blown prettiness—as on "Uninvited," where Gold invites us to "let go" over a starburst of violins.
Electronics play a secondary role, but an important one. Gold uses his longtime producer Lexxx, who has worked on synth-y gems from Darkstar and Wild Beasts, and co-production credits come from Bullion and Darkstar's James Young. Most impressive is Bristol's Hyetal, whose rushing toms give "Triumph" an exuberant edge. That burst of energy is exactly what A Paradise lacks elsewhere; shackled to the piano, the album's range can feel a bit limited. It's worth sticking it out, though, if only for the moments when Gold's grand vision finally comes together. "I Know, I Know" is a sweetly sentimental closing ballad, whose final lines fade into a cloud of piano sustain. It's strange and beautiful at once, and that's what Gold does best.
Tracklist01. Greener World
02. Breathless
03. Triumph
04. Breath Alone
05. Uninvited
06. Flex
07. Muscle
08. Unknown
09. Evergreen
10. I Know, I Know