Golden Ocean

50 Foot Wave

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 8, 2005)
• Original Release Date: March 8, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Reincarnate Music
• ASIN: B0007NMKKS
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #187,080 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

50 Foot Wave is the mark of a woman without a shred of complacency. Former Throwing Muses front-woman Kristin Hersh is back after years of solo work and sporadic reunions. This new project finds Hersh, along with Muses bassist Bernard Georges and new drummer Rob Ahlers, cranking up and streamlining. Their self-titled EP debut was a 16 minute blast of punk rock aggression matched with Hersh's lyrical dexterity and intense vocal approach. Golden Ocean extends the formula to end up with 11 songs in 35 minutes. Always a master of idiosyncratic connections, Hersh combines disparate elements into cohesive songs, giving the listener a new view of the world--or at least insight into hers. "Long Painting," "Dog Days," "Ginger Park," and "Clara Bow" are all good examples of her fury born of experience. In fact, nearly all the songs here deal with the life-learned oxymoron of, "the more you know, the less you know". Both angry and affirming, this release shows a band gaining strength with each offering. --Robert Arambel

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An off-the-charts sonic explosion of true bliss., March 11, 2005

By	Steven E. Rich "steveR" (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars rock and roll, April 18, 2005

By	alexander laurence (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

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.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a rock n' roll masterpiece, March 10, 2005

By	Matt H (SoCal) - See all my reviews

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.