The Goldenhearts, Brad Brooks, Glass Elevator November 15, 2012

Come to a real rock and roll club, The Knockout for an evening of excellent music by all bands involved.

THE GOLDENHEARTS – review
http://www.thegoldenhearts.com

“Always remember to be kind. They’ll cut off your head to get to your mind” – The Goldenhearts. So go the opening lines of the heavily Beatles-inspired track “Star” by alternative rock band the Goldenhearts. Led by front man Roger Rocha, who you may recognize from his work as former guitarist for the cult favourite 4 Non Blondes, the Goldenhearts mix chamber pop, alternative rock, and rock n’ roll/psychedelic rock to form a concoction all their own. Both the recording/production and the song-writing sound classic…Much like The Smashing Pumpkins, there is an element of sadness in the writing, but also a sense of familiarity and comfort, romance and and beauty. Roger Rocha has a unique singing voice, and it’s hard to compare him to anyone else. Influences from the Velvet Underground to Sonic Youth, Queens of the Stone Age and the Butthole Surfers come to mind. Ari Gorman is quite the multi-instrumentalist, playing bass, cello, piano, moog and backup vocal duties, and he does a wonderful job. The Goldenhearts’ new release “Is There Love On Mars?” is a very solid 11-track release full of well-crafted hooks and potent emotion. The meeting of the classic and the new seems effortless, and the result is an album that sounds freshly original and yet instantly essential.

BRAD BROOKS – review
Brooks flavors his pop with a ’70s sensibility, stirring in influences from the Beatles to Hall and Oates. “Calling Everyone” is reminiscent of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes whipping up the crowd at the Stone Pony into a sweaty frenzy. There’s plenty of Beatles influences sprinkled throughout. Brooks shouts frantically like John Lennon in his Plastic Ono Band days over industrial psychedelic guitar shredding on “Spinner and the Spun.” “Steal My Disarray” sounds like George Harrison crooning over his weepy guitar. T“Exemplary Girl” could be an unlikely pairing of Paul McCartney duetting with Hall and Oates; “Will It Be Enough” sounds like Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy accompanied by Harrison on guitar. … If you insist on labeling Brooks, pop revisionist is the best fit. In his hands, pop is taken out of the puberty market and made suitable for listeners with a little more life experience.

GLASS ELEVATOR

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