Back in January, we featured Golden Bloom as part of our popular Undiscovered Bands Worth a Listen series, and loved their Summerteeth-era Wilco vibe. Now, we’ve got an exclusive taste of the band’s forthcoming debut album — download the song “If You Believe” below!
Though the band features other members in live shows, Golden Bloom is primarily the brainchild Shawn Fogel, who plays every instrument on Fan the Flames, due August 18.”Every instrument” doesn’t just mean guitar/bass/drums either — Fogel unleashes some top-notch synthesizer and tenor sax as well.
Both are featured on “If You Believe,” a sunny slice of Americana-tinged rock’n’roll — kissed with flourishes of horns and xylophone. And it’s not just an upbeat sounding song: “You never know where you’re going to find love,” Fogel sings. “Strange places where you never thought you’d find it before.”
LISTEN: Golden Bloom, If You Believe(DOWNLOAD MP3)
“I like to describe the overall tone of Fan the Flames as frustrated optimism or optimistic frustration,” Fogel says. “I think ‘If You Believe’ plays a very important role in elevating the level of hope amidst some of the darker lyrical content.”
Fogel also is hopeful that an unusual online promotion strategy will help get his music to a wider audience: Each of the album’s tracks is premiering on a different website as a free download! (Catch up on the songs you missed here.)
But could this track-at-a-time approach mean people only end up hearing one or two songs?Fogel isn’t worried.”I know that if I hear a song I really like by an artist who is new to me, I’m very inclined to want to hear their whole album,” he tells us.”I’m hoping that people who are just now discovering Golden Bloom will have the same reaction.”
Check out “If You Believe” above, then head over to Pop Wreckoning next week for track number eight!
