Goldcard

Goldcard Artist: Goldcard
Label: Off Records
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 751937224624
EAN: 0751937224624
ASIN: B00008NGAE


Release Date: 2003-04-29

Goldcard


Related Categories:

General General
Categories | Rock | Styles | Music
Pop Rock Pop Rock
Categories | Pop | Styles | Music

Tracks:

  1. Unititled
  2. We Only Doubt Which Theory We Will Be Proving First
  3. Unititled
  4. Destroy And Recreate
  5. Rabbit
  6. Didn't Feel A Thing
  7. Unititled
  8. Unititled
  9. Unititled
  10. Picture Of A Horse
  11. If I Could Help It
  12. Unititled
  13. It Had A Dream
  14. Birthday
  15. A Fascinated Eye Production
  16. Unititled

Album Description

Featuring members of Grandaddy, Quasi, Sleater-Kinney and Pond. Off Records. 2003.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Lo-Fi Magic.......2003-08-21

I'm quite pleased with this little gem. Just when I had given up on Grandaddy's "Sumday" as being a bad imitation of Grandaddy, Goldcard slid into the picture and filled up that smart and beautiful pop hole that Grandaddy had recently vacated. These songs seem to teeter on the verge of some kind of emotional collapse at all times, yet don't reflect that fact in the content. The fragile nature of the songs makes them precious, but powerful at the same time. There's a great pop sensibility at work throughout the whole album that continually reels in some great hooks and lands solid lyrics. I hear a lot of influences, but the Beatles keep popping into my head. Campbell does some really interesting semi-orchestrations that seem to be inspired by them. The vibe though, in my opinion, is much more along the lines of older Grandaddy which in-turn plugs into Pavement. Goldcard's derivative of neither but gives me that same feeling when I listen... That this guy knows something about making music. It doesn't matter how much money you spend, what big producer's got his fingers on the knobs, or how much the marketing department is going to push you on the public... All of that slick production and money doesn't make a good song if there wasn't some kind of spark to begin with. A good lo-fi pop song is that spark. It's raw perfection and much better better for being so. Goldcard is that in every sense.

4 out of 5 stars Lo-Fi Magic.......2003-08-21

I'm quite pleased with this little gem. Just when I had given up on Grandaddy's "Sumday" as being a bad imitation of Grandaddy, Goldcard slid into the picture and filled up that smart and beautiful pop hole that Grandaddy had recently vacated. These songs seem to teeter on the verge of some kind of emotional collapse at all times, yet don't reflect that fact in the content. The fragile nature of the songs makes them precious, but powerful at the same time. There's a great pop sensibility at work throughout the whole album that continually reels in some great hooks and lands solid lyrics. I hear a lot of influences, but the Beatles keep popping into my head. Campbell does some really interesting semi-orchestrations that seem to be inspired by them. The vibe though, in my opinion, is much more along the lines of older Grandaddy which in-turn plugs into Pavement. Goldcard's derivative of neither but gives me that same feeling when I listen... That this guy knows something about making music. It doesn't matter how much money you spend, what big producer's got his fingers on the knobs, or how much the marketing department is going to push you on the public... All of that slick production and money doesn't make a good song if there wasn't some kind of spark to begin with. A good lo-fi pop song is that spark. It's raw perfection and much better better for being so. Goldcard is that in every sense.

5 out of 5 stars Great Summer Music.......2003-08-13

This is a truly amazing record. Most of the songs were written about 5 years ago, and supposedly they floated around in bootleg form until now. It sounds like most of the tracks were added to or re-recorded altogether, but since I've never heard the bootleg I couldn't say for sure. Obvious comparisons should be made to Quasi (Sam and Janet actually play on one of these tracks) and perhaps less so to Pavement (some of the guitar solos and off-kilter directions the songs go in are reminiscent). This record definitely has a northwest sensibility which is a good thing to my ears. There is ample piano, guitar, and very melodious singing (with occasional harmonies), but don't get me wrong it still rocks. Stand out tracks include "Rabbit" (recorded with members of Grandaddy), "We only Doubt Which..", and Track 12 (untitled) which is mostly heavy-guitar/drums instrumental. Highly recommended.

4 out of 5 stars Junkmedia.org Review - Filled with heart, soul and wit.......2003-05-01

Portland, Ore.-based trio Pond broke up in 1999 after putting out two full-length albums on Sub Pop and a major-label platter. Lauded for impressive guitar work, a strong rhythm section and catchy melodies, critics compared Pond to the Flaming Lips, the Grifters and Weezer. After the split, guitarist/vocalist Charlie Campbell was rumored to be working on something called the Goldcard project. Three years later, Campbell has finally released the album, a wonderfully fragile slab of pop that exudes the warmth and intimacy that home recording often provides.

Campbell carries over the guitar work and melodies to most of the songs on Goldcard, many of which were built around what he calls his guitar "gimmick." The effect is sometimes eerie (the untitled first track), often beautiful ("We Only Doubt Which Theory We Will Be Proving First") and always sounds like a treated orchestral string section. I believe the gimmick involves using the edge of a pick like a violin bow to play the strings, albeit with some heavy effects (and sometimes a slide) to bolster the sound. The Flaming Lips use something similar, to powerful effect.

Campbell plays all of the instruments (guitars, keyboards, bass) accompanied by a drum machine on many songs. His quiet voice (and occasional falsetto) is sweet and his lyrics smart and occasionally heart-breaking (e.g., "we slowly stop counting/when long divisions keep us apart"). Campbell also recruited some like-minded players for this album. Sam Coomes and Janet Weiss of Quasi are featured on "If I Could Help It"; some of the folks from Grandaddy sit in on "Rabbit." The three relatively straightforward rockers, "Didn't Feel a Thing," "Picture of a Horse," and the untitled track number 12, feature Campbell's former Pond bandmates, drummer Dave Triebwasser and bassist Chris Brady.

As a nice touch, Campbell provides literate, funny and sometimes touching liner notes. In addition to providing details of what inspired the songs, who played on them and how each person ended up involved, Campbell goes on humorous tangents about neighbors, politics and gardening. The whole package feels like something Campbell put together for friends, something filled with heart, soul and wit.

Dave Brigham

Music Album:

  1. Live at the Starlight ~ Drag the River
  2. Glisten ~ Songs from a Random House
  3. I Hear You Rockin' the Hits Live ~ Dave Edmunds
  4. Over the Line ~ Greg Guidry
  5. Then! Live in Tokyo ~ Alan Holdsworth Group
  6. Honky Tonkin' ~ The Flying Burrito Brothers
  7. Teen Sensation ~ Fast Eddie
  8. Bring It On ~ Ironhorse
  9. Deadsexy ~ Scarce
  10. Before We Spark ~ Ultimate Fakebook

Music Album

Music Album

Music CD

Someday My Prince Will Come ~ Wynton Kelly

Soliloquy ~ McCoy Tyner

Ancient Africa ~ Abdullah Dollar Brand Ibrahim

Piano Jazz: McPartland/Brown ~ Marian McPartland

My Beating Heart ~ Jiro Yoshida

O Porto ~ Madredeus

Crises de l'Ame ~ Jeanne Mas

In It ~ Keith Marks

Tres Mujeres En Mi Vida ~ Tony Saenz

Mauritsstadt Dub ~ Various Artists