Album Review: Such Gold - 'Pedestals'

Rochester, New York’s Such Gold is a band that has stood out to me for a while now. Their brand of pop punk blended with super melodic hardcore and solid work ethic have placed them higher in the pack than a lot of the other bands attempting this busy genre at the moment. Their previous record “Stand Tall” generated a good amount of interest and hinted at the potential the band has, which they have delivered in the form of six new tracks entitled “Pedestals”.

The intro track “Cut Rides” has an insane amount of energy to it, starting the record off in an exciting way. The following track “Sycamore” continues on with this flow of energetic pop punk, with front man Ben Kotin making smooth transitions between yelling and singing. While a lot of bands attempting to do this fail miserably, Such Gold pull this off with no dramas, which is one of the many strengths that they contain.

As good as “Sycamore” was, the remainder of the record is what you need to hear. The following four tracks are on another level, marking the finest material the band has produced to date. “The Brass Tax” and “Gut Rot” shows the band moving away from the yelled vocals and turning out catchier hooks, with “Gut Rot” quite possibly being my favourite song that the band has penned to date, with Kotin’s vocals sounding more impressive than ever.

The fast paced “So Close” goes back to the formula shown in the first few tracks on the record, but features guest vocals by The Startlng Line/Person L front man Kenny Vasoli, which is a perfect addition to the track, as I can never get enough of Vasoli’s fantastic voice.

Vegan mosh metal legend, Earth Crisis front man Karl Buechner lends his vocals to the final track “Pedestals”, but unfortunately unless you knew Karl was singing on the track prior to listening, it is unlikely that the vocals would be noticed. They seem to get lost in the mix and blend in too well with everyone else, but in saying that they are positioned in the perfect part of the song, sending it out in a big way.

Such Gold is a band that is continually improving, and “Pedestals” marks the band’s finest material to date. I have high hopes for the band’s debut album to be something impressive; hopefully it isn’t too far off in the horizon. The band will be touring Australia for the first time in early 2011, so make sure you don’t miss them.

1. Cut Rides

2. Sycamore

3. The Brass Tax

4. Gut Rot

5. So Close

6. Pedestals