Golden Curtain has plentiful local rock pedigree and this latest album from the Hawkes Bay trio is a swirling concoction of classic guitar pop-rock that has been gaining international attention. Guitarist / vocalist Andrew McKenzie was previously in Grand Prix, drummer Andrew Gladstone was formerly with Garageland, while bassist Brad Gamble fronts his own band, A Twin Moon.
‘Dream City’ follows on from last year’s ‘English Tuning’, and thematically is about a dreamt city that doesn’t exist in reality. The 10 songs are heavy with melody, key modulations and changes, and veer in energy and intensity. Network Space is timeless pop that should be a radio hit. It sits next to the languid and woozy title track, which brings to mind psychedelic hits from the 1960s. For me, the album’s finest moment is Talking In A Dream, which uses instruments other than the core guitar/bass/drums set up. This is a fine album with much to recommend it, though I would like to hear more space in the songs, with the instruments less tightly fitted.
