Hailling from Sydney, The Baldwins are a progressive soul collective steaming with local rep, dripping with an inpassioned disposition and boasting a large enough brass section to manouevre a bus through.
After garnering the beginnings of a name with a collection of energetic live shows, they’re today dropping their first single – a tasty, lazy treat named Goldbrick.
Goldbrick from The Baldwins chugs along with the power of a steam train, advertising an attractive leisureliness yet enough momentum to break down walls.
When the usual three or four band members isn’t enough to conjure the swelling, full-bodied soul you’re meaning to create, obviously you need to kick your numbers up to eight. What’s inevitable with a roster that large is a dynamic sphere of influence, which is why Goldbrick embodies everything from hip-hop styled percussion, the instrumental emotiveness of jazz and a vocal performance worthy of our neo-soul luminaries.
The Baldwins enlisted Sydney’s Parliament Studios to record Goldbrick, with Phan Sjarif (Middle Kids, Narla) on production and Darren Ziesing taking mastering credit. The mix walks a cheeswire tightrope, staying lazy and true the the band’s jazziness while keeping it’s hands clean throughout.
Standout performances come from Courtney Josh on the vocals, Sean Valenzuela on the keys and Bonnie Guo, Alex Jasprizza and Tim Coggins bringing the brass, not to discredit any other member of this potent soul corporation – their cohesiveness is their defining feature.
The driving piano lick is so raunchy it could almost be mistaken for a whacked-out bass guitar, and it serves much of the same purpose, dragging the tune along with a sluggish allure.
Josh’s vox echoes as if it were filling a ballroom decked with dim light, a haze of tobacco and full-length gowns, commanding attention like no other end of the mix. The horn section fills in any remaining gaps, providing the main hook and a scat breakdown in the song’s tail end.
The Baldwins have crafted something wonderful with Goldbrick, a menagerie of delicious connections to musical delicacies old and new, and a fantastically unique, distinct and expressive debut.
