DAWN GOLDEN

Dawn Golden is a project by producer/songwriter Dexter Tortoriello, who is better known for being part of the dream-pop duo Houses. His debut album as Dawn Golden, the name of which was originally Dawn Golden and Rosy Cross, took more than three years to make, with Tortoriello crafting it in between his other regular gig. It was recorded in Diplo’s Mad Decent studios, as well. So what can be said about Still Life? Well, it’s generally pretty quiet and laid back, giving it something of an after-house chill vibe. There isn’t much shine from the fact that Diplo might have been a muse of some sort. And Tortoriello, most of the time, sings as though he’s just gotten out of bed and hasn’t had time to shave or shower yet.

So this is sleepy-time bedroom pop, but it’s actually not a bad example of the genre. At least, in the first half. After you get into Side Two territory, you begin to realize that Dawn Golden’s tricks are pretty much used up, and the material starts to get a bit repetitive. There’s also an instrumental number titled “Chevotain” that spends about four minutes and 10 seconds going absolutely nowhere, unless you count the static-filled universe of a TV set on the blink as actually going places. Still, Still Life isn’t bad when it hits, but this might have worked better as another EP. (There was one in 2011.) And I find it incredible that this took more than three years to produce, but I guess this is a product that was less laboured over and more pushed to the backburner to be worked on when there was time.

As stated before, this is a particularly front-loaded release. Opening track “Discoloration” begins with a few sustained organ chords, before the vocals and a minimal beat drops in. However, “Discoloration” is a song that gradually builds to an emotional climax as the instrumentation gets sharper and sharper, even if the overall pace of the song travels along like a snail. And, eventually, there’s a quite liberal but yet appealing use of a vocoder. Overall, it’s a nice little ballad. But then first single “All I Want” starts, and it might be a candidate for the most Coldplay-sounding track not performed by Coldplay. Tortoriello sounds remarkably Chris Martin-like and there’s the use of a plaintive piano. This is a song that’s worth attention. It’s a standout pop ditty, and, if there was any justice in the world, this would quite easily go Top 10.