Warmer Than Gold

Fucked Up のメンバーとして活躍するBen Cookによるプロジェクト GUV の新作アルバムが登場。これまでYoung Governor、Young Guvなどの名義を使ってましたがGUVへと変更。これまでのアルバムで見られるキャッチーなスピリットを引き継ぎつつも、本作ではMadchesterやBritpopに影響を受けたリズム要素が強く打ち出されている。そのサウンドは曖昧でありながらも高揚感に満ち、まるで深夜のM1モーターウェイを駆け抜けるようなスピード感と緊張感にあふれている。そこにBeastie BoysからThe Field Mice、Primal Screamまで幅広い影響を受けた新たなプロダクション感覚が融合。すべての流れがワイドスクリーンで交わる集大成的作品。

Ben Cook, the pilot behind the controls for Young Guv, now known as GUV, has never shied away from trying his hand at a musical style. Previous works found him digging into new wave, country rock, glam, chillwave, and most impressively power pop. No matter the style his unerring way with a melody, his note-prefect production skills, and overall way with a song has mean that every record hes made has been well worth hearing, and even sometimes bordering on brilliant. For 2026s Warmer Than Gold Cook swerves into the sound of the U.K. guitar rock scene of the first half of the 1990s. Taking inspiration from the Stone Roses -- most notably "Fools Gold" -- along with My Bloody Valentine, Primal Scream, and other paragons of baggy, shoegaze, noise pop, and Madchester, every song sounds like it could have been featured in the pages of Select or found in the track list of a Volume compilation. Theres no hint of any sound made either before or after that very specific era; loads of funky drum loops, guitars that drifts past like serrated clouds, more echo than the Grand Canyon, and the occasional groovy synth are paired with Cooks yearning vocals and his encyclopedic knowledge of the sounds involved. The care put into the sound of the record is quite impressive and Cooks way with a melody, whether its sunny ("Chasin Luv") or a little cloudy ("Never Should Have Said"), is just as strong as ever. He also makes sure to vary the dynamics, mixing in a variety of tempos and arrangements within the tightly constructed arrangements. Its a very smoothly flowing, warmly robust record that feels like a nostalgic hug from a old friend, or for those who didnt catch the wave the first time, a pretty decent introduction to all the cool sounds a guitar band could make in the early 90s. ~ Tim Sendra

Ben Cook, the pilot behind the controls for Young Guv, now known as GUV, has never shied away from trying his hand at a musical style. Previous works found him digging into new wave, country rock, glam, chillwave, and most impressively power pop. No matter the style his unerring way with a melody, his note-prefect production skills, and overall way with a song has mean that every record hes made has been well worth hearing, and even sometimes bordering on brilliant. For 2026s Warmer Than Gold Cook swerves into the sound of the U.K. guitar rock scene of the first half of the 1990s. Taking inspiration from the Stone Roses -- most notably "Fools Gold" -- along with My Bloody Valentine, Primal Scream, and other paragons of baggy, shoegaze, noise pop, and Madchester, every song sounds like it could have been featured in the pages of Select or found in the track list of a Volume compilation. Theres no hint of any sound made either before or after that very specific era; loads of funky drum loops, guitars that drifts past like serrated clouds, more echo than the Grand Canyon, and the occasional groovy synth are paired with Cooks yearning vocals and his encyclopedic knowledge of the sounds involved. The big questions that pop up when an artist does such a well-researched and executed job recreating a sound are these: do they bring anything new to it and if not, are the songs good enough to inch the album past pastiche status? Many times the answers are clear cut, but in this case its a little tricky. The care put into the sound of the record is quite impressive and Cooks way with a melody, whether its sunny ("Chasin Luv") or a little cloudy ("Never Should Have Said"), is just as strong as ever. He also makes sure to vary the dynamics, mixing in a variety of tempos and arrangements within the tightly constructed arrangements. Its a very smoothly flowing, warmly robust record that feels like a nostalgic hug from a old friend, or for those who didnt catch the wave the first time, a pretty decent introduction to all the cool sounds a guitar band could make in the early 90s. Where the record stumbles a bit is on the question of originality. Cook plays it pretty safe throughout, everything feeling just so in a way that his previous albums, which were also quite indebted to specific genres, never did. When everything is this note prefect and considered, its not hard to wish for something surprising to come along and shake things up. Too much of the album feels like the kind of vaguely uninspired second-string bands like Spirea X who were consigned to the cutout bin, when with his resume and skillset Warmer Than Gold could have been more like Telescopes 1992 self-titled record, that is to say something that knows the mold, but has no compunction about breaking it along the way to making an album that truly lands a knockout punch. Warmer Than Gold is more convivial and comforting than that. Its a nice way to spend some time once or twice, but it lacks the extra something necessary to stand the test of time the way the bands and albums that provided Cook with so much inspiration have. ~ Tim Sendra