Bars Of Gold (BoG), a new project including former Bear vs. Shark (BvS) members Marc Paffi and Brandon Moss, recently released their debut album entitled Of Gold through Friction Records. Moving from the post-hardcore sound the band carries a more punk rock / indie rock sound. BoG may not necessary cater to many BvS fans out there on this release, but after just one listen, I am a fan.
A Nintendo-y opener, properly titled “Boss Level” started off the album with me scratching my head wondering what the rest of the album would entail. Not that there is anything wrong with a little 8-bit-core, it was just unexpected.
“Heaven Has A Heater” focused more towards an indie sound with a punk singing style that really sounded amazing. This is definitely a track that needs to be checked out. While I am talking about tracks that needed to be checked out, listen to “Birds” as well. The sound was like what might happen if Modest Mouse and Talking Heads decided to collaborate. It was catchy and bizarre all at once.
“The Hustle” was unlike any other track on the album and by far the most entertaining to my ears. The banjo almost hypnotized me throughout the wild folk-heavy track with Paffi’s vocals howling all over the place. Dare I say Hot Water Music vocals meets Travis guitar playing? Yes, I just said that.
The melodic “………….” was a nice, chill track to listen to at the start but soon had a little group vocals going on in the background leading up to Paffi taking over. The song reminded me of Cursive track in a good way.
“Cannibals” was a great track to sit back to and just enjoy. In the true spirit of indie rock, this song kicked ass and I loved how the beginning crept up around you and then just turned into a mad frenzy of insanity.
It’s nice to see musicians move on in differnet directions without sounding like they are trying too hard. Bars Of Gold have a good sound going for them and I am loving what they have created. I am sure there are BvS fanatics out there wondering what happened and it is expected, but I have the feeling that once a few of them make way through this album they will grow to appreciate all that it is.
2010 is coming to an end and I think I have found my favorite indie-ish rock album of the year. Check it out for yourself: