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Golden Shoulders - Kin (ep) Upstart record label Welcome Home Records must like their music in short, affordable spurts – both releases I have reviewed from them are the briefest of brief EPs. First was Attractive’s 3 song sampler, and now comes Golden Shoulders’ EP/7” Kin. And that’s definitely brief with a capital B – with Kin, the whole thing clocks in expediently under 13 minutes. But the 13 minutes themselves display a masterful hand at pop songwriting from ringleader Adam Kline and his loosely arranged, ever revolving group of musicians. The five tracks run a confident musical path, starting out with a quirky upbeat tune, splitting the disc with a loping, dare I say melancholy number and ending things with an uplifting, “ride off into the sunset” type of track. The bulk of the disc is jangly and quirky, like the Violent Femmes meets Ben Folds. Things are riff and hook driven, with no need for overly complex noodling. This is piano driven rock the likes of which has not been seen since… well, the heyday of piano driven rock. Kline’s voice is refreshingly immediate and to the point despite its individuality – not overly processed or understated – honestly, it’s not overly or under-ly anything. To paraphrase Goldilocks, “this voice is just right”. The first track is probably my favorite of the whole deal, but there’s plenty for discerning folks of varying tastes to enjoy despite the running time (or lack thereof): a country feel even pokes its head out on “Be Warned”. Now if only Welcome Home would saddle up and release some full length releases from their eclectic and promising roster of acts… jeff latta |
