Customer Reviews

Golden Ocean

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Congratulations. If you've made your way to this and most other reviews of this record, it means you, too, are on the brink of discovering, imho, one of THE greatest records to come along in a LONG, LONG time. I recently read a review that said if Cobain were still alive, this is the kind of music he would put out today. I cannot imagine a higher, or more deserving, compliment. The only thing better than 50 Foot Wave's Golden Ocean, is seeing 50 Foot Wave perform it live. What a band. What a record. This is essential listening.

I have heard most this these 50 Footwave recordings and they seems very listenable. They are very appealing. I am not so familiar with Throwing Muses or Kristin Hersh's solo work. But I heard this record and the other one, and it seems like an amazing band. There is really nobody doing music like this. It's aggressive music with female vocals. It has big guitar riffs and screaming vocals. I just love it. I don't know enough about it. It reminds me a little of Wire "Pink Flag." It's original music that is reaching people out there in the online community.

Golden Ocean is Kristin Hersh's always-magical songwriting and lyrics all rolled up into an explosive thrashrock wrapper, courtesy of drumming monster Rob Ahlers and longtime fellow Throwing Muse, Bernard Georges. From start to finish, its all rock n' roll all the time. The ultrafast album openers 'Long Painting' and 'Bone China' set the stage well, then 'Pneuma' comes along, with its instantly memorable Zepellin-esque guitar riff and its opening line "Did I just hear you try... to lemon scent the sky?", and that's the exact moment you just know this is going to be a classic album, right up there with the best things Kristin has ever done (and that's saying a lot!). That amazing song alone is worth buying this cd for. But after that, the great songs just keep on coming, from the catchy punk pop song 'Clara Bow' to the Bluesy dirginess and sad lyrics of 'Petal' ("I remember you... Seventeen in the dark outside a party... Crying in the dark, I'm sorry"), all the way through to the melodic Throwing Muses-like 'Diving' and the album's epic closer, 'Golden Ocean'; With its infectious metal-style chords and complex structure it's possibly the heaviest, most headbang-able song ever to emerge from Kristin's guitar.

one thing i noticed about Golden Ocean is that it doesn't play quite like an Album with a capital A, more like a collection of great standalone songs. it flows fine through most of it, but i think you could play the cd on SHUFFLE mode and it'd fit together almost as well, though that may be a good thing for an album like this where EVERY song is a standout. but i guess i'm starting to miss those little mood-setting transitional songs that were interspersed throughout many of Kristin's solo and Throwing Muses albums, like calms before the storms. Golden Ocean is ALL storm, no calm, which can get overwhelming if you aren't in a rocking-out mood.

As with all of Kristin's other albums, this one is a showcase for her amazing lyrical ability (though maybe not quite to the extent as the sparser lyric-driven songs on her solo albums). Many of the words seem fuzzy and impressionistic at first; ("your baby joins your party... kicks you out the door... your baby is your mardi gras... in glitter and confetti"). But upon further listens, it all seems to get clear. but eventually you start hearing layers upon layers of new meaning in the songs that you never noticed the first 100 times you heard them. and lyrics that you were certain say one thing turn out to actually say something completely different, according to the "official" lyrics. It's a neat trick, i wish i could figure out how she does it.

The only trouble with releasing a record this good so early in the year is that it may get unfairly overshadowed when it comes time to make end of the year "Best of..." lists that everyone hates, yet always seem to make. This record is great, great, great. If you have found this page then you are already assured to love it. There are 11 songs on this CD and each one would be the best song on 11 seperate CDs by anyone else (not that anybody else could make these songs). Standouts among the standouts for me include: Petal, Golden Ocean, Dog Days, Pneuma, Ginger Park, and Clara Bow. As of now this CD has only been out for two days, but it's all I've been playing, over and over, and it shows no signs of slowing down. Be aware going in that it is joyfully LOUD and get ready to be Amazed at the sheer brilliance.

this cd rocks. one killer song after another. classic guitar-driven american rock and roll with a true punk edge. head-banging bass and drums. these songs just spank anything else out there. very hard.

i'm a diehard fan of throwing muses and also hersh's solo material, and i'm totally thrilled with this--it's so cool when your favorite artist keeps surprising you by taking risks and pushing the envelope.

this is american rock history: X, nirvana, fifty foot wave.

i can't stop blasting golden ocean. adrenaline rush.

Don't sound like Throwing Muses, don't sound like Sonic Youth, don't sound like X, and it don't sound like The Pixies.

Does sound like Iron Maiden and Motorhead. I know that's NOT what K had in mind. Maybe Rob did a little, though...heh, heh, heh...

I love this very, VERY muchly. My friend Dave already ruined my first copy upon borrowing it. What could it have made him do, to do whatever he did to it? Guess I need to get copy #2 when I pick up S-K's, "The Woods" on Tuesday...

If you don't like rock 'n' roll, heavy metal, punk rock, you will NOT like this. If you like your standard-issue, mediocre ADULT-CONTEMPORARY garbage that most "mature" listeners kid themselves into believing actually emotionally speaks to their years of living and wisdom, then go pick up one of the many millions of records by pansies like Jack Johnson or Sheryl Crow.

Fall to you knees and repent if you please!!!

There simply is no other disc like this out there. Fast, furious, tight, loud... amazing songwriting with an incredible delivery. It is a far cry from the teenpop punk and nu-metal movements. Anyone who thinks bands like Good Charlotte "rock", I would have to insist that they pick this CD up and prepare for a solid ass kicking. It opens with an explosion and doesn't let up for 40 minutes. Standouts for me include Bone China and Petal, but every track holds its own. Its such a relief that there is finally some decent rock music hitting the scene again. I hope that anyone who cares about what the music they listen to sounds like will find this CD and enjoy it at least half as much as I do.

What a breath of fresh air this record is. A sonic blast! Every song on this record is invigorating, smart and palpable. It's amazing that such a huge wall of sound is coming from just three people.

There is not a weak track on this record. The standouts for me are Bone China, Long Painting, Dog Days, Diving, and Petal. Kristin Hersh's voice, as distinctive as Bjork or Joanna Newsome is on full throttle. It's both shredded and strong and sung with such an urgency that it makes you feel as volatile as she sounds. The music within each song change on a dime. Direction, tempo and speed are all elements that Hersh, Bernard Georges and Rob Ahlers are playing with successfully here.

The songs are not derivative per se because they definitely have Hersh's stamp on them. But for some reason it recalls elements of early Nirvana and The Pixes and of course Hersh's baby Throwing Muses which is not bad company to be in.

I came upon this album early last year upon re-discovering Kristin Hersh with the release of her last solo album, Learn to Sing Like a Star. She has almost always been prominent on my musical radar since around 1992 when I first discovered Throwing Muses and then her awesome solo stuff starting with Hips and Makers. I think this album came around during an extremely inspired and productive time in her career which hasn't stopped thankfully. In a few short years she put out the last Throwing Muses album (with Tanya Donelly again finally!), all the 50 Foot Wave stuff, and the phenomenal solo album. Golden Ocean is what I think most artists wish they could achieve, something with almost a completely different style to anything they have ever done before but is still completely awesome! "Long Painting", "Clara Bow", "Dog Days", and the title track are real standouts on this tight album.

I've been a big Kristin Hersh and Throwing Muses fan for years, but this album is just not up to her usual high standards. It's got the rocking part right, but it's missing the sophistication and genuine emotion that set her and the Muses apart from their peers. (I guess you can call it the artistic part.) The songs are there, buried, it's just that *everybody* is pounding away - on every song - all the time. Yet, it doesn't feel angry or aggressive. I listen to it, and I'm like "why are you yelling?" In the end it's just fatiguing. For awhile, I thought she could do no wrong, but this, for me, is a misstep.