You know spring is finally coming when Golden Richards drops a new single. Keeping with their annual tradition of releasing new music in March or April, Gil Golden, Billy Richards, and friends throw it back to the heyday of Van Halen and KISS on the big hooky rock anthem "Take a Chance." Living in that space where hard rock intersects with power pop, "Take a Chance" captures the vibe of summertime adolescent fun circa the late '70s or early '80s. This is the type of song I've been wanting Golden Richards to do for a while, and it totally suits the band's talents. Call it hard power pop or poppy hard rock if you want. But more than anything else, this is just rock n' roll. Billy really gets to show off his pipes, and there are guitar solos all over the place. The song depicts the sort of fun that I always imagined the older kids having when I was a child: driving around in a Pontiac Firebird in search of pretty girls and cheap beer while Van Halen plays in the tape deck. There's even a dance party at the local water tower! As you would expect from a Golden Richards song, there are huge hooks to go with all of that rock. This song romanticizes summer love even as it reminds us how short-lived it inevitably is. How many of our best memories would not exist if we hadn't, uh, taken a chance? If you've liked the direction Golden Richards has taken on recent singles "Shake Your Hair" and "Will I Be Cool," you're gonna love "Take a Chance"! It's ironic to be typing this in thirty-some degree weather with the wind howling, but warm weather is right around the corner. "Take a Chance" will sound great as you cruise the streets with the windows down — even if you don't drive a Firebird.
Maybe a hint of The Darkness in there too.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree! I've often heard a little Freddie Mercury in some of Billy's vocals, but with this track I'm hearing some Justin Hawkins for sure!
ReplyDeleteThanks guys, we are big fans of the Darkness so this is really cool and Billy does sound like Justin - Darby Todd, drummer in the Martin Barre band is a friend of ours and he has been on the kit for the Darkness for a few live gigs - Darby played the drums for us on our track Zach Attack
ReplyDelete