Ethan Gold – “Songs from a Toxic Apartment”
Gold Records
-out Jan. 11
3.5 / 5
Nothing’s ever perfect, but at least with Ethan Gold’s “Songs from a Toxic Apartment,” you won’t have to put up unsanitary listening conditions. These off-kilter pop songs give you solid choruses, good beats, and strong song structure; and when the sound opens up, the album can be unabashedly satisfying, if in a strangely predictable way. Still, when you’re given a song like “Poison,” it’s hard not to appreciate funky guitars, the steady drive of the vocals, and the full sound Gold is capable of. The album presents a diverse sound within rock/pop, and the moments where it pays-off is generally in the earlier parts of the album. Unfortunately, some of the later tracks are plodding and a bit undeveloped (“I.C.U. (Toxic)”), but it wraps up well, and overall you find a few tracks on here that you’ll be happy with. Like we said, nothing’s ever perfect, but Gold gives a strong enough performance to garner a recommendation from us.
Listen to “Come Beat it Down”: http://www.planetarygroup.com/newmedia/pages/ethangold/mp3/comeonbeatitdown.mp3