Review: Golden Hours ‘Beyond Wires’
What has always captivated me most, eliciting a profound sense of both fascination and desolation, particularly while listening to Berlin’s supergroup Golden Hours, is the exquisite synergy between their intoxicating post-punk sound and the deeply sensitive vocal delivery.
The band’s master musicians craft a music vision that is at once engaging and utterly enthralling, a vibrant landscape of energy that could easily overwhelm, yet it never does.
Instead, this potent musical foundation serves as a compelling counterpoint to Hákon Aõalsteinsson’s soulful voice, which delivers each lyric with a remarkable calmness and vulnerability, allowing every nuanced meaning to connect thoroughly within those who attentively welcome his every word.
It is this powerful balance, where the raw intensity of the instrumentation meets the tender vulnerability of the vocal, that truly elevates their work beyond mere genre confines, creating an experience that is sonically and emotionally reverberating. Indeed, this masterful equilibrium between powerful music and profoundly expressed lyrics is undeniably the essential ingredient that renders their creations an enthralling listening.
Two years have graciously passed since I last reflected on Hákon‘s creativity, specifically The Third Sound’s well-received Most Perfect Solitude (reviewed on this very site by me), an album that was in harmony with vigorous human strength and undeniable allure. And now, once again, I find myself immersed, ready to articulate the profound impressions left by Beyond Wires.
Despite its sonic energy, it is often the vocals, at times imbued with a bluesy inflexion, that subtly redirect your gaze inward, pushing your mind to wander down introspective pathways where quiet reflection can truly grow. Here, within its ten meticulously crafted songs, a delicate oscillation occurs between an imaginative serenity and captivating harmonies that, with a tender touch, might momentarily caress your spirit, only to then gently distance you before drawing you back into their intricate embrace.
every note contributes to a holistic emotional experience that etches an utterly compelling narrative upon the soul…
The fluid rhythms emanating from Rodrigo Fuentealba Palavacino’s guitar, at times reminiscent of Sad Lovers & Giants – Tristan Garel-Funk in particular – prove transcendental. Together, in seamless unison, they meticulously weave a velvety carpet where each whispered melody and every earnest lyric finds a resonant resting place. Song after song, you are drawn into their uniquely introverted, yet utterly enchanting world, a landscape painted with both gentle smiles and poignant tearjerkers that connect deep within the soul.
The journey commences with Whatever Happens Today, a track that immediately establishes a transcendental atmosphere, meticulously crafted by Wim Janssens‘ masterful keyboard experimentation, which seems to suspend time itself in its delicate caress. This seamless sonic evolution leads into the cinematic moment of Arctic Desert. There’s a strange, powerful sound in this song, a deep, echoing breath that gives it a haunting quality, bringing to mind the moving feeling found on New Order’s The Him. This moment is full of warmth, but it’s balanced beautifully.
It shows the band’s skill in crafting moments that are both dramatic and deeply moving, proving they can handle serious emotion while keeping the music incredibly captivating and rich in texture. As the narrative unfolds, The Same Thing emerges, its alluring pulse driven by the captivating rhythm of Tobias Humble‘s drumming interwoven with Janssens pulsating bassline, creating an experience that feels both flowing and eternally wholesome in its rhythmic allure.
Further on, the bluesy sound of Voices, graced by Hákon’s soulful vocals reminiscent of Screaming Trees’ Mark Lanegan, offers a profound sense of mental relaxation. The remaining compositions stand as a magnificent monument to the enduring themes of love and life, inviting all to discover that the water is indeed fine within their sonic universe. ‘Step right here, the water’s fine. Step right here, you won’t drown’, Hákon assures us with his distinctive vocal quietness.
On Beyond Wires, time runs like a freight train where every note contributes to a holistic emotional experience that etches an utterly compelling narrative upon the soul, making the journey truly worth it in every sense.
Label: Fuzz Club Records
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: Domenico ‘Mimmo’ Caccamo
