ATP! Album Review: Such Gold - Misadventures

Such Gold have been mentioning a full-length release for a few years, and after a brutal 2011, things could have only gone up in 2012. Through near-constant touring, "Misadventures" will be released as the band’s debut LP after two EPs and two splits, and by pounding out 11 tracks in less than half an hour, the band have made a record that stands as a testament to the strength they have maintained despite that bad luck year.

But hearing Such Gold on record is weird. Their albums are numbed-out versions of the energy they throw in your face on stage while you’re in the pit climbing over your friends, and you can’t exactly relive that energy through a couple speakers in your bedroom. Regardless, "Misadventures" has an impressive moment or two.

Kotin’s voice wavers strategically on every track as he pushes his vocal chords with strength instead of strain (the guy’s tough, there’s no question). With Skylar Sarkis to back, vocals show the return of their characteristically relatable lyrics, kids telling kids about life and its confusion – honest yet complicated – striking notably on “Committee Circus” (“So stop pretending / pretending that you’re not / just another group of kids who feels slighted and confused about God”) and “Tell Yourself” (“You’re only what you tell yourself you are / and lying to yourself can only get you so far”).

Unsurprisingly, Devan Bentley owns his drum set with complete control, heard immediately on opener “Two Year Plan” and coming back to impress again on “Tell Yourself.” His consistency throughout "Misadventures" pairs with the band’s reliability to stick to their sound - amps are cranked up on nearly every track, guitar pairings provide weighted rhythm with the hooks of “Tell Yourself” and finale “You Are Your Greatest Threat (The Doctor Will Serve You Now)” pulling themselves up above shorter-lived songs - but, in honesty, are used too much as a crutch to differentiate each track from the next.

Overall, Such Gold have successfully sidestepped the bull-shit of over-involved production and counterfeit songwriting just for the sake of trying to turn heads with their first full length, so the band deserve a huge “thank you” for that rare feat. They haven’t shown any major developments to their sound, but they’re also pretty convincing that that’s not the point to their music or their records.

Unfortunately most of the tracks make the statement of “just passing through” - coming and going and losing attention as the record progresses. A studio album isn’t the proper platform to give an impression of Such Gold, however. As a band who makes its mark through almost repulsive intensity on stage in pure dedication to showing kids in the pit a good time – and not necessarily through musical ingenuity – "Misadventures" should only be taken as a small window into what Such Gold have to offer.

3/5

“Misadventures” is out August 14th through Razor and Tie Records.

Carolyn Vallejo