New Album Out Tomorrow Via Gearbox Records
“**** (out of 5)… Dogwood Wild Boy rolls with a lyrical flow while slyly subverting from within… Golding and band gently twisting out of shape familiar ‘70s rock tropes… their chemistry explicit.”
–Andy Cowan, MOJO Magazine
“Exploring themes of manhood and beyond, its songs also find Golding moving towards a new sound, incorporating elements of blues, heartland rock and Americana while remaining firmly rooted in the jazz idiom.”
–Matt Micucci, Jazziz, June 2, 2022
“Commands our attention.”
–Josh Weiner, Atwood Magazine, May 20, 2022
“Golding takes new inspiration from blues, rock, and Americana as a fresh launch point for his jazz musings.”
–The Vinyl Factory, June 1, 2022
“Forges a unique path by marrying exquisite jazz sax lines with swampy blues guitar.”
–American Blues Scene, June 9, 2022
“Epic… Dream Like A Dogwood Wild Boy (Gearbox Records) is such a strong album… Binker Golding has really put himself on the map as composer/leader with an album that coheres from top to bottom and from start to finish… Some really good things have coalesced here.”
–Sebastian Scotney, The Arts Desk, June 16, 2022
“****… Editor’s Choice… An album of positive reckoning, bitterwsweet but never less than alive.”
–Nick Hasted, JazzWise (UK)
“You can hear the way it communicates the contrasts between the expanse of the music and middle American landscapes and the inner depth of Golding’s thoughts.”
–Jordan Mainzer, since I left you, June 15, 2022
“A major triumph.”
–Jim Hynes, Glide Mag, June 15, 2022
“I was grabbed from the very beginning.”
–Dirk Hughes, Jam & Toast, June 14, 2022
This new material marks Golding’s first solo material since releasing his critically acclaimed debut album “Abstractions Of Reality Past And Incredible Feathers” (2019), which saw him earn plaudits from the likes of The Wire, Stereogum, The Guardian, The Vinyl Factory, Red Bull Music, WBGO, Jazzwise, The Financial Times, and MOJO (#2 Jazz Album Of The Year). Outside of his solo work he is known for co-leading Binker & Moses with Moses Boyd; his duo work with Elliot Galvin; and his trio work with John Edwards & Steve Noble. He won the Jazz FM instrumentalist of the year award in 2020 and has won another four awards with Binker & Moses, including a MOBO award in 2015.
The new album finds Golding moving towards a new sound that incorporates elements of blues, heart-land rock and Americana while remaining firmly rooted in the jazz idiom. The songs explore themes of manhood, father and son relationships, friendship, love and sex, reflection, drinking, escapism, death, masculinity, and resilience.
Following the release of his expansive lead single “(Take Me To The) Wide Open Lows,” the new track continues to perfectly exemplify Golding’s ability to skilfully traverse genres and expectations without ever being pigeonholed. Combining heart-land rock instrumentation with roots inflected jazz sax and emphatic piano lines, the song – much like many of the tracks on the album – evokes the landscapes of the American mid-west.
Speaking on the single, Golding says, “The sensibility of the song grew out of a bunch of things I wished I’d said to my father & my step-father, but no longer can. The essence of the overall sound is one of remembering & reflection. That’s the heart & soul of it. It has a deliberately forced happy ending though. There were no happy endings for my two dads in real life, so I forced it into my music. You can’t control life, so you try to control art instead”.
Speaking on the ideas behind the album Binker Golding says, “I wanted to document my thoughts on various themes from where I stand now, as a man in my mid-thirties. Despite the male perspective and the age specific point of view, I’d like to think this music is for anyone that at some time has needed to be reminded of what it means to be human. The ideas behind the songs cover positive & negative relationships I’ve had to both people and things, including family members, partners, and friends.
The music is simply a reflection of my current feelings towards personal issues that are important to me. At the time of writing the record, I’d recently lost a parent and a step-parent as well as a few close friends well before their time. As I reflected on the past, I realised that the losses had profoundly changed me. I specifically started looking at the similarities between my father and myself, some good, some bad. It led me to the realisation there were certain characteristics I was going to have to adopt & some I was going to have to drop in order to do things better than the men that had led to me being here. The album is ultimately about growing up, finding strength and doing things better. It’s hard to articulate these points with instrumental music, but they’re in there.”
The new album also sees Golding collaborating with some of the scene’s most talented artists. Pianist Sarah Tandy provides her ever brilliant comping throughout & gives one of her hallmark introspective solos on “All Out Of Fairy Tales”. Guitarist Billy Adamson brings his full toolbox of electric and acoustic blues / country influenced, hard-hitting guitar lines, laying down one of the best solos on the album on “Love Me Like A Woman”. Double bass player Daniel Casimir is his usual, solid self with a huge sound & precision timing. Drummer Sam Jones is subtle where needed & keeps tracks like “Howling & Drinking In God’s Own Country” & “With What I Know Now” moving forward with fierce momentum. All the while, Binker Golding does what he does best, but in a more borderless, expansive and dynamic fashion than ever before.
Dream Like A Dogwood Wild Boy is out tomorrow via Gearbox Records
Tracklisting:
1: (Take Me To The) Wide Open Lows
2: Love Me Like A Woman
3: My Two Dads
4: Drinking In God’s Own Country
5: ‘Til My Heart Stops
6: With What I Know Now
7: All Out Of Fairy Tales
Credits:
Sarah Tandy – piano, Billy Adamson – electric & acoustic guitar, Daniel Casimir – double bass, Sam Jones – drums, Binker Golding – tenor saxophone & compositions.
Dream Like A Dogwood Wild Boy was produced by Binker Golding, recorded by Matt Mysko at Metropolis studios, mixed by Hugh Padgham at Platoon studios & released on Gearbox records.
