LA band Fool’s Gold is well-versed in a variety of international styles. One can particularly detect a marked affinity for Afro Pop in the boisterous dance anthem “Surprise Hotel” and “The World is All There is.” Chorused vocal chants, Middle Eastern Inflections, and a neo-New Wave sensibility combine in savory fashion on “Ha Dvash.” ”Nadine” takes indie rock on an international sojourn, with Luke Top’s charismatic singing and guitarist Lewis Pesacov’s fluid guitar lines both soaring atop a fulsome mid-tempo groove.
Some purists decry American bands that create music with wide-ranging, internationally inflected palettes as sonic brigands and cultural appropriators. On the contrary, I find Fool’s Gold debut LP to be the near-inevitable byproduct of increasing globalization, expanded diversity in the US, and the natural curiosity of a talented octet of young musicians.
MP3: Surprise Hotel