Windom Earle, Gold Wave (Boost Ventilator)
Yup, this Haligonian affair boasts 11 members in the CD credits, and yes, glockenspiel figures prominently. But chamber pop this ain’t. The one proper song, with vocals and standard structure, is “Kitten vs. Pegasus,†which unfortunately comes off like a Modern English number, and that we don’t need (the macho-meltdown joke of “Ted Nugent†wears thin fast too). But the rest isn’t songs so much as motifs worked to perfection, grafting together surf, new wave, math rock and the aforementioned orch-pop element to excellent, energetic, harmonious effect. The propulsive “Get On Into It†bears shades of Shadowy Men, “Guitorgan†is pumped up and powerful, and “You Can’t Dance to Dreams,†playing a sweet piano pattern off explosive drums, closes the record with class. 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
