Somehow, SOMEHOW, this review hadn’t got to the site before it did. For that we are very sorry, as what Bars Of Gold have put together here is something that can only be described as fucking amazing.
‘Wheels’ follows on from 2010’s ‘Of Gold’ (see what we said about that here), and it is – in many ways – the perfect follow up. Marc Paffi’s vocal ruggedness still remains here from his Bear Vs Shark days, but it’s laying over Bars Of Gold’s further refined and intwined musicianship here, and the delivery is every bit as accomplished for restraint here as it was for intensity previously.
The band’s scatterbrained propensity to meander away from the core of a song subtly or shove you from one emotion to the next without warning is staggering, and with tracks like ‘Treefort’ falling into ‘22180’, Bars Of Gold really have pushed some boundaries with ‘Wheels’. ‘Hey Kids’ is a brilliant opener, and with the previously mentioned brace and ‘Monical’ also being brilliant, there’s rarely a dull moment to be found.
Though the lyrics are often jarring and raw, the instrumental arrangements make it a smooth listen, and it’s this that makes the album such a joy to listen to. It’s a bit late in the year to add an album to your top tens (our bad, again), but we dare you to give this a listen and come back to us and tell us it doesn’t deserve a place. Destined to be underrated, perhaps, but magnificent nonetheless.
TOM AYLOTT