John Gold
A Flower In Your Head
Release Date : June 14, 2011
Vagrant Records
With smart lyrics, quirky production, and west coast flair, A Flower in your Head is primed to be the soundtrack to your summer.
A Flower in your Head is Gold’s third release (preceded by These are Color Days (2002)Â and The Eastside Shake (2004). His music has also appeared in Weeds and the independent film Mean Creek. Gold’s vocal stylings are reminiscent of Rufus Wainwright and Aimee Mann, so if you are a fan of either artists, chances are you will soon be a fan of Gold.
The album kicks off with “Skyscraper.” Led by charming keys and tambourines he sings, “you’re a heart so breakable and I am see thru. Thick as glass.”
“Thursday” is an interesting beast. It begins with keys, beats, and space bleeps. The Hermetic mantra “As Above, So below” is repeated more than once-  At least…I believe it is Hermatic…I may be wrong…perhaps this is a Tom Tom Club reference? I mean…who doesn’t love those guys.  There is some very interesting imagery floating in this song- (vultures turning to dove, the famed looking glass, etc.) and Gold manages to herd these images together without any hint of pretension. Midway through the song is a glorious tempo change that made the cliché-d hairs on the back of my neck come to attention. This track quickly became a favorite and I bet it would be great live.
“Baby it’s your Life” is another standout track. Lyrically it reads like a lighthearted entry on fml. It’s happy-go-lucky chorus is a reminder to not take yourself so seriously. The bridge “don’t freak out, don’t freak out” is magic.
The album closer “The Loop!” has within it a beautiful summation of the album: “The sound was so beautiful. Oh the endless possibilities. The sophisticated melodies…”All in all this is a most successful album. Unlike other acts making the rounds Gold seems like an old friend you can’t wait to roll into town. It is evident that Gold spent a lot of time and heart on this album, and I have a feeling he will continue to produce great albums for years to come.
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