Gold Standard

Square (2004)

Jordan Rogowski

Talent is an interesting dynamic, as it's not always what it seems to be, or at least, not always used to enhance what it possibly could. In a musical sense, a band with talented members should have no problems whatsoever writing a great record, right? Not necessarily. Talent goes a long way, no doubt about it, but a band still has an obligation to write good songs. Guitar speedster Yngwie Malmsteen obviously harbors an immense amount of talent, but he couldn't write a song to save his life. Self-professed prog-emo band Gold Standard seems to fall into much the same category as Malmsteen.

It's pretty obvious upon initial listen that each member of this four-piece is very talented in their own right, having a great handle on their respective instrument; the problem arises in the actual crafting of the songs.

The song structures are diverse enough, that much credit is due, it's just that a large amount of the content is pretty forgettable. No matter how promising a song starts out, it careens off the course of being interesting and hits a pole. There's just nothing to remember any individual song by, so what results is an hour that seems like one long song strung together with various styles and tempos. Singer Shelby Rushing has a high but full voice that seemingly doesn't reach the peaks and potential that could be there. "This Tumultuous Turn Of Events" leaves Rushing's falsetto to carry the song's weight, and his shoulders just don't bear it. Some solid instrumentation aside, that song represents an entire album of missed opportunity for the band. "A Friendly Conversation With Mr. Troglodyte" is a fairly down-tempo track, with some real strong riffs thrown in, complimenting Rushing's voice and creating one of the album's best dynamics. It's unfortunate that at no other point on the album can they really replicate that sort of interesting moment. Frustration really sets in after a while.

Frustration at what makes this album lack. Surely, so many of the pieces fit favorably together for Gold Standard. A singer with a great voice, and the range to match, and 3 other extremely talented musicians to aid him in crafting songs that should just suck you right in. But it doesn't happen. Maybe it's just that a few of the songs drag on for far longer than should be allowed, maybe it's the lack of a sure direction. There's a lot of good melodies and subtle complexities with the underlying guitar work but the band can simply not get everything to hold interest and have a sure path, no matter how hard they tried.

Make no mistake, Gold Standard are an immensely talented band, that much we can hear. And who knows, maybe this album will ultimately grow on me, and change my mind on it completely, but for the time being, Square is an effort that lacks definition, lacks a specific mark. If this band puts out another album down the line, consider me interested, because there's no way a band with this much talent won't figure out a way to stop having to tread water eventually.