Golomb: The Beat Goes On (Vinyl LP)

Moulded in the fertile rock crescent of Columbus, Ohio, three-piece Golomb - comprised of Mickey Shuman (vocals/guitar), Xenia Shuman (bass/guitar) and Hawken Holm (drums) - channel Midwest friction into an album that seeks to find a genuine connection.

Bounding through bluster like Loop one minute and hunkered down like Pixies pummeling pop’s soft spots at Fort Apache the next. The underlying buzz on “Real Power” dips a few miles south of Columbus to channel Dayton’s favourite sons, stitching together some clear-eyed clamour from the GBV playbook. The band lays it bare on “Dog” with a slow slink that builds toward the singed elegance of Spiritualized and a lyrical labyrinth that’s cut and pasted into a Burroughs-esque blur of rock motifs. The song peaks in pure maelstrom with a glorious glut of feedback foaming out of the speakers.

The familiar spectre of The Velvets rears its head in the shambolic beat of the title track, and “Other Side Of The Earth” gets gooey with dub, but never loses the band’s ability to feed the fray. Then, they wind guitar around their rhythms with the grace of early Built To Spill on “Be Here Now”, letting the sax twirls of Henry Ross send the song into the ether.

1. The Beat Goes On
2. Staring
3. Experience Humanness
4. Pressure
5. Other Side Of The Earth
6. Dog
7. The Sad Song
8. Real Power
9. Play Music
10. Be Here Now
11. Sweet Release (Ain’t No Devil)