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Lowgold | Just Backward Of Square (Nude)
Following in the wake of Wheat in the shimmering, dual guitar band race and determined to make up for lost time come Britain's Lowgold. They employ all the same tricks as their swaying American cousins too, sumptuously languid instrumentation that bursts out when needed, showering the air with shards of sound that pierce to your very soul while restrained voices float along inside the maelstrom. A lullaby instrumental, Golden Ratio lures you in until Beauty Dies Young simmers up in its shining glory, raising you up and allowing the chugging Mercury to carry you off into the heart of the album. Here lurks brooding songs, chiming away and wrapping Darren Ford's voice within, as if he's peeking out from behind his guitar to see if the coast is clear before launching into Counterfeit. This effulgent, diamond sharp, siren rings out, marking the half-way stage like a keystone, the softer numbers flanking this screamer. The viscosity thickens again and soon the mechanical throb of In Amber subsides to allow Open The Airways to waft in and, before you know it, Into The Void slinks along, telling you "you're better off dreaming" over an ethereal drone before vanishing from view and taking the album with it. Full marks to Lowgold for breaking away from the stereotypical Brit rock sound and providing some light on the home front horizon.

Laurence Arnold
CWAS #7 - Spring 2001

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