With only three tracks, power-pop trio Golden Cinema doesn’t have a lot of time to make an impression on their latest EP. That certainly doesn’t stop them. Peachy Keen brings a blast of warmth to the otherwise cold and dreary conclusion to the decade. The tracks are coated in a haze of sunlight, with bright hooks and melodies that leave spirits high.
Though Golden Cinema as an entity itself has a relatively short history, its members have been active on the scene for much longer. Most notably, members Andy MacDonald and Derek Ellis found their start in former group Two Hours Traffic before the band’s dissolution in 2013. This history lends a noticeable polish to Golden Cinema‘s current sound. Having years of well-crafted power pop under their belts, the trio pull out all the stops for the short selection on “Peachy Keen”.
At only ninety seconds, closing track “Nostalgia” is a short track on an already short EP. It fits the sonically light-hearted theme of the tracks before it, but there’s a sense of urgency in the way it builds before abruptly ending. The band pleads, “don’t break the spell, don’t turn it off.” It’s a fitting ending impression to leave on, especially following the shimmery veil of its counterparts.
If the ending is a prayer to keep the spell of nostalgia alive, then the rest of the EP holds the magic that Golden Cinema are desperate to keep in tact. The dreamy echoes of title track “Peachy Keen” coupled with lyrics like “floating in the in-between, I’m slipping out of tune” feel like something out of a fever dream after too much time in the sun – in the best way possible, of course.
“Colour Me In” turns out to be the most high-energy of the three. The unwavering bassline is a solid, driving force of the song, while the guitar works to perfectly complement the balmy melody of the chorus. It’s decidedly the pop anthem of the three, nestled perfectly in the center of the tracklist.
It’s hard to believe the EP doesn’t even reach eight minutes in length. It doesn’t take long to find your footing in the sound, but all the same you blink and find you’ve reached the end. The lucky thing is that the dreamy sound certainly doesn’t get old. If you just keep listening to it, it doesn’t have to end at all. Maybe that’s the sneaky spell of nostalgia that Golden Cinema have found themselves so enamoured with.