Search - Remy Zero :: Golden Hum (Mcup)

Contentment

WrtnWrd | Northridge, CA USA | 11/18/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Remy Zero's third release The Golden Hum begins with an instrumental, an overture intended to set the tone for what's to come. Yet the instrumental is such limp doodling it belies the muscular, shape-shifting songs to follow. There are duds ("Out/In", particularly), but they're less detrimental than those on the fractured Villa Elaine. The Golden Hum is a metaphor for contentment - what crazy things we do to get it and how easily we overlook it when it's in our grasp. In "Glorious", a couple who "don't have to be lovers" are just happy to be in each other's presence. "Perfect Memory" is about how we bathe the pieces of past disappointments in the glow of nostalgia. "Belong", the simplest and best track here, is a mid-tempo shuffle that's both a lament for the end of the affair and an evocation of what we most seek in a partner: a sense of being home."

Really Enjoyed This Album!

Shaun333 | 06/19/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I don't watch Smallville, but I was changing channels one night and caught "Save Me" playing. I looked up the show on the net, who the band was and the rest is history. What a break.I'm generally someone who only listens, for the most part, to bands from the 60's, 70's, ala Byrds, Dylan, Gene Clark.
So it was very cool to find a band/album that I can really get into in this day and age.This is a great album. The more you listen to it, the more you will like it. While the singer does have a little of the Bono/Radiohead vibe in his voice, he and the band generate their own style which seems to be somewhat psychedelic, and straight ahead Rock n' Roll based, with obvious 60's, 70's influence. Some of the best songs in my mind, and the ones that I can't stop playing over and over are "Glorious #1", "Out/In", "Save Me", "Over the Rails", "Smile" and "Impossibility". While the entire album is pretty darn good, these songs really grab at you in comparison. A great buy, go out and get it. Listen to the samples if you don't believe me. :}"

Giant leap forward

jackblackrocks | Lancaster, PA USA | 03/07/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Remy Zero has reached new heights with The Golden Hum. First reaching public consciousness with Villa Elaine and the single "Prophecy," Remy Zero has put together an album that may just propel them to the next level. While Villa Elaine had some great tracks, it felt very schizophrenic as the band tried to emulate a different band on each track of the album. After sounding like Radiohead on one track, Queen on another, with The Golden Hum, they've decided to just be Remy Zero and that may be the smartest move they've ever made. "Save Me," the first single and the theme song to the WB's series Smallville, has a more experimental feel than most of Villa Elaine. Singer Cinjun Tate's plea to, "Let your warm hands break right through and just save me," cries out to the listener as the drums and guitar just pound on the soul. "Perfect Memory," if released as a single, could be the track that propels Remy Zero into the same rarified air inhabited by U2 and R.E.M. It is a touching, gorgeous song about loss which could be a leading candidate for the song that high school seniors identify with their graduation. "I'm Not Afraid," perhaps the album's most touching track, is one of the most beautiful, introspective songs in recent memory. In "Bitter," Cinjun Tate repeats the line, "Just one more day when it's already been too long," like a mantra over a guitar hook that just grabs you. It's not just the lyrics that have an effect either. "Belong" has a country guitar twang that sticks with you for days, and "Out/In" is driven by its swirling guitar and string intro that makes you feel just like that plastic bag caught in an updraft in American Beauty. The Golden Hum is a giant leap forward for Remy Zero, and the only thing that changed from their previous work is that they've finally decided to be themselves. What a concept."