Posts tagged All Is Golden

Pronto – All is Golden (CD)

Those expecting Wilco keyboardist Mikael Jorgensen’s side project to play the same alt-country indie rock his full time group is known for may be in for a disappointment. Rather the Jorgensen-fronted Pronto sticks to a brilliant combination of classic AM radio pop with a healthy dose of lyrical cynicism. All is Golden, 13 tracks of truly imaginative rock music, was actually recorded in 2006 with members of Iron & Wine and Califone.

As if that lineup weren’t enough to excite the indie kids, the band’s current roster also includes members of Cat Power and Childballads. With strong harmonies, plenty of piano, guitars and occasionally a few horns, Pronto’s influences stretch back to 70’s rock; the songs “Precious Like a Sneer” could easily have been written by Randy Newman or Warren Zevon. The bare bones “Good Friends Have Gone” showcases Jorgensen’s no-frills vocals best, but just about any song of the album is destined to win over skeptics. It may not be Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Pt. II, but Pronto’s debut is just as impressive.

Top Tracks: “Good Friends Have Gone” and “Precious Like a Sneer”

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Pronto – All is Golden (CD) / 2009 Contraphonic /13 tracks

Pronto – All Is Golden
Contraphonic – Out March 10th
February 25, 2009, 02:05 PM

Mickael [sic] Jorgensen is maybe better known for his work with Wilco but if the songs on this debut album ‘All Is Golden’ under the moniker Pronto is anything to go by then there will soon come a time when Wilco will be a secondary recognition as ‘All Is Golden’ is bright shining star of a pop album that melds together the tuneful melodious-ness of the finest pop tracks with a subtle blend of jazz, funk, and various other musical incarnations that are hard to pin down.

For a little bit of background on Pronto click here as I’m just going to tuck into ‘All Is Golden’ and lay it out a little for you.

Opening with ‘Listen Lover’ coming across like My Morning Jacket jamming with Graham Coxon as the guitar scratches it’s way across a two-and-a-half minute jaunt through Californian pop. Title track ‘All Is Golden’ welcomes in the more jazzy moments with horns blasting over a funky almost Stevie Wonder-esque groove yet the whole thing is incredibly laid back as Jorgensen delivers a vocal that’s almost spoken but with a little more emphasis “Well once we were so beautiful, and the cracks were very small/Now things aren’t as clean as we hoped they would be”.

The piano-led ‘Good Friends Are Gone’ is as close in comparison to ‘The Weight’ by The Band that I have previously heard, ‘When I’m On The Rocks’ again aims straight for that 70′s sound that was so successful for The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac it’s that almost solely American of sounds despite midway turning into some sort of Robin Hood era chime but generally this is 70′s pop/rock and it’s quite refreshing somehow.

‘Precious Like A Sneer’ has the most quality of opening lines in “Hello there asshole/Or is it Mr. now” clearly a bitter riposte at somehow with ideas above their station, ‘Monster’ brings the guitars back in for a driving scuzz-rock track that has a quality thudding drum part before we are brought back to MOR with the almost recognisable (it’s like a misplaced theme tune to an American sitcom with maybe Bill Cosby) ‘What Do You Know About You?’ – I know I’m going to be humming it for awhile now anyway.

There’s a line running through ‘All Is Golden’ that veers of in several tangents with the far more heavy influenced moments like ‘Monster’ and ‘Unexpected Vex’ possibly courtesy of Russ Arbuthnot (Steve Albini alumni) which are then tempered by the other strands of quiet reflection such as ‘Big Sleeved Man’ and ‘Say It All Night’ that are fine pop moments that are set to a mellow soundtrack. And again things alter as the instrumental ‘Mrs. Bruford’ has an almost out-of-body atmosphere in it’s intro before the staple piano filters in and again the funk arrives it’s a quixotic blend.

‘Had and Have’ is once again a slow number that features a quietly strummed melody it’s clearly meant as a love song or at least an ode to a loved one with lines like “Where is she going/I know it’s far away/But the love we’ve had and have/Never goes away”. Whilst ‘I Think So’ is a wonderful jam of horns/guitars/piano all set to something out an 80′s buddy cop movie theme.

That’s bizarrely the overall impression I’m left with is that ‘All Is Golden’ is cobbled together from parts of the best theme-tunes and moments of Americana over the years and all blitzed in with each other. Mikael Jorgensen has made a fine album that brings together some very reminiscent moments, I would certainly consider going part-time in the day job.