Such Gold

Misadventures (2012)

RENALDO69

I've been keenly anticipating this full-length as I loved the brash, melodic pop-punk thing this band did with the immaculate Stand Tall and last year's sound offering on an Into.It.Over.It split. Such Gold have been worthy of attention as they bust onto the scene young with the enthusiastic and hellish records mentioned above. They were gritty, fast-tempo, angry yet had a good dynamic with the contemporary and energetic hardcore sound.

Misadventures takes a few chances and I don't know if it's maturity or the band not wanting to be pigeonholed as a one-trick pony but whatever they do, it works well here. Ben Kotin resonates a bit clearer here and this progression shows early on "Keyhole M.O." and "Two Year Plan" as they convey their usual aggressiveness and knack to hustle words off Ben's chest. It's deliberate and calculated and sticks well to the old sound, much like "Another Day" and "Survival of the Fondest" does. They expand and emphasize on the revolting take that Such Gold spews on the world…and it's exuberant in its own bitterness and melancholy notions.

What I still remain impressed with is that they have this sound that old and new punk fans could still dig. The second half of the album is unique in the sense that while faster and unrestrained, there's a more hardcore than punk feel with heavy doses of catharsis. They go for faster riffs than that indie-pop feel and they lose that melodic edge on the likes of "Understand and Forget," "Higher Places" and "Locked out of the Magic Theatre."

I must make special mention that while the latter section is a bit unconventional by Such Gold's standards, bassist Devon Hubbard and drummer Davan Bentley really stand out here. With Kotin's voice peering and reaching into the listener, Such Gold manage to keep most of their vintage sound while upping the ante on their hard-hitting and thrashy in-your-face attitude. It's another step in their evolution. There's some homage and a bit of nostalgia paid to fans in the closing "You Are Not Your Greatest Threat" and it rounds off a pretty deft album that makes me pretty glad to have seen the progression of this band over the years.