The Gold Supply’s atmospheric take on alternative rock finds its feet on the group’s emotionally explorative debut EP.
Emerging out of the pandemic, The Gold Supply are a band who found creation in chaos. With their debut EP, they explore the clarity of thought the pandemic gave them, and the sense awareness that came with it.
Made up of five tracks, Open Lines is a translucent dive into ambient and dreamy rock. Soft instrumentation forms the bedrock of many of the tracks, while pensive vocals give them a feeling of general comfort.
The EP’s opener, ‘Let It Go’, for example ebbs and flows between immersive choruses and arching Stereophonics-inspired instrumental breaks. Similarly, ‘No Addictions’ adopts a soft overall tone with both its vocal and instrumentation, but delivers biting instrumental sections that lift the track up a gear or two. The juxtaposition of sounds gives these tracks a free forming shape and allows them to reflect the emotions they convey.
The EP’s softest point comes from ‘Never The Same Again’, which is probably the best track here. It departs from the dirty guitars found elsewhere on the EP and points further to the group’s thirst to remain restless with their sound. Its funky rhythm and trippy vocal gives the track a groovy and Happy Mondays-inspired tone that bobs and weaves through its mysticism.
Nowhere does the EP show the band to be more at one with themselves than in its lyrics. The existential inquisition lockdown caused has resulted in a profound clarity in The Gold Supply’s world view. Concepts of death, anger and addiction are all examined throughout the EP, as well as those of hardship and emotional strain. The deep and inquisitive lyrical nature is indicative of the group’s honesty, and a willingness to impart it.
The EP’s explorative lyrics, together with its ambient blend of alternative rock, creates an undeniably engaging sound that combines contemporary music with candid wisdom. The end result is a relaxing and fresh-sounding debut for a band who now have a strong platform to develop on.