Album Review: Wand – Golem
2 min read
The Californian four-piece are back with their second album entitled Golem. No, it’s not about that skinny dude from Lord of the Rings, but at times you can imagine the band’s music being played over an epic battle between good and evil. Wand are a band that take comfort in other music, and make their hero’s part of what they create; Golem is no different, but also brings a strong sense of originality to the forefront.
The Unexplored Map is the first taster of what’s to come, and hits you with its Nirvana-tinged chord changes and grunge atmosphere. Think of the band Garbage on acid and you might be close to what this sounds like. It’s a good thing to have a song so diverse to kick off the album instead of playing it safe – a rare thing to see these days.
The heavy sound continues with Self Hypnosis in 3 Days; switching between synths and solitude, the music juts in and out, before we’re treated to the psychadelic Reaper Invert. Drums build into early Pink Floyd-esque sounds and vocals, before the track gets lost in its own gaze – kind of like someone spinning round and round till they don’t know where they are. Fewer guitars help the melody standout amongst a trip of strangeness.
But it’s not all hazy and heavy. Melted Rope sounds like something slow and sultry by The Beatles, whereas Cave In once again plays up to the Brtish Indie Sound of the 90s. This helps break up the album, almost into two parts, as Golem finishes with a metal vibe, compliments of strong Black Sabbath connotations. Flesh Tour and Planet Golem play up to the greats, both featuring inventive drums, angst and torment to get their point across in a fantastical way.
Golem is a work of disjointedness, but somehow it really works. It pulls apart the souls of other bands and fuses them together with a solder that is a band putting their own stamp on what they love. It’s rare that this is done in such an inventive way, and Wand should be proud of what they’ve accomplished here.
