Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
If you are not ready at any moment to take on the psychedelic then the stiff upper lip of the continued Victorian hangover is arguably always going to be one that dominates your life; the misuse of such genres, whether it is the realms of Jazz, the volume of energy in Punk in all its glory or the spectacle, the sheer wonder, of the Progressive, to not appreciate the art that goes into them is to possibly surrender any form of anti establishment, any anarchy, any freedom to rebel outside centuries old conviction. It is a surrender that just does not fit in a modern sense with any feeling of self identity.
The Psychedelic feel is one that weaves its way through Goldray’s Rising, and yet despite the rich tapestry it has inherited, never takes its eye of the main thought behind the songs, that of just telling a story; in this way the art of the Progressive is very real, one that has the charm of being against the grain of supposed cool and pop idolatry but has all the fascination of being different, of never once hiding in the shadows of conformity and for that Goldray succeed perfectly in their approach to making the music attractive.
Goldray’s Leah Rasmussen, Kenwyn House and Geoff Laurens take the motivation behind Rising and pump it to the collected songs content, the smile, whilst it might be imagined on the face of the physical but inanimate object, nevertheless tells the story of a wonderful grin, the unquestionable pleasure that seeps out in the way that the fragrance from a field of flowers will hit you if you take in the right breath, take in the right attitude to the presence before you.
In tracks such as Outland, Diamond Road, Calling Your Name and the creative splendour of Gypsy, Goldray add something a bit more diverse to the majesty of the Psychedelic, they install a wave of contentment that is often, and regrettably, missing. It is a feeling of wonder without going overboard, without taking the journey so far that it cannot be revisited or become lost along the way.
Goldray are a sense waiting to be discovered and one that many will find alluring.
Ian D. Hall