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Track Listings
| 1. Surprise Hotel |
| 2. Nadine |
| 3. Ha Dvash |
| 4. The World Is All There Is |
| 5. Poseidon |
| 6. Yam Lo Moshech |
| 7. Night Dancing |
| 8. Momentary Shelter |
| 9. Nadine (Acid Girls The Vibes Are Free Bromix) |
| 10. Poseidon (Sizzla s Judgement Yard Dub Version) |
Product Description
Review
With Vampire Weekend, Damon Albarn and The Ruby Suns all heading in a similar direction to Fool’s Gold, the pan-global pop highway has become increasingly busy recently. But where their fellow travellers try to squeeze international sounds into the constraints of standard pop songs, this Los Angeles collective seemingly have more in common with the African traffic coming the other way. Much like Fela Kuti’s reinvention of American funk as afrobeat, or Tinariwen’s Led Zeppelin-influenced desert blues, Fool’s Gold stretch Western pop templates out into African shapes; and this debut album belies their name by being a genuine gem.
The group themselves are equally as freeform and far-flung as their sound. Bulwarked around the core duo of vocalist and bassist Luke Top and guitarist Lewis Pesacov, Fool’s Gold also includes fellow inhabitants of the LA scene such as former We Are Scientists drummer Michael Tapper, alongside members from Mexico and Argentina. Top himself is Israeli by birth, and his decision to sing largely in Hebrew adds another exotic element to the whirling dervish of guitars, synths, African percussion and Arabian choirs that is Poseidon.
Yet although Fool’s Gold clearly look east for many of their inspirations, songs like Ha Dvash are also rooted in the West Coast of America; the guitars recalling the nimbly strung-out soloing of The Byrds or the Grateful Dead as much as they do Ghanaian high-life or Congolese rhumba. But no matter which way they’re blowing, Fool’s Gold create a breezy sound as refreshing as the wind in your hair when riding on a pick-up truck through either the deserts of Africa or the States.
Indeed, from the sunny six-string licks that open Surprise Hotel through Nadine’s joyous horns and Momentary Shelter’s percussive swansong, Fool’s Gold feel like a welcome breath of fresh air even gusting from your car stereo in a suburban traffic jam. --Paul Clarke
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By David Nance
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Debut album for this really interesting West Coast Band. Great live and offering something different. Amazing instruments and excellent vocals.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By J. Lachno
Format:Audio CD
As unconcerned with geographical legitimacy as Vampire Weekend, but far more faithful to source material, Fool's Gold's energised debut traverses Kingston, Istanbul and Rio before settling somewhere between Fela Kuti's Africa 70 and the house band on a week's cruise down the Nile. Despite the scattered approach, the musical voyage seldom hits rocky waters, and the surf-tastic guitar tones provide breezily welcome reminders of home at regular intervals - sublime.
Choice Cuts: `Surprise Hotel', `The World Is All There Is', `Nadine'
Choice Cuts: `Surprise Hotel', `The World Is All There Is', `Nadine'
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
One of the big tips for "2010". While Fools Gold may forever be associated with the Stone Roses "acid baggy" anthem this new band from Los Angeles may be about to claim definitive use of the name (let us cast into the dustbin of history any mention of the truly awful Kate Hudson film of the same name). I reviewed this album when it first came out in November last year. It has been re-released for 2010 and nicely spruced up with the addition of two great re mixes one being a darker version of ultra catchy "Poseidon" which describes itself, the Sizzla s Judgement Yard Dub Version and the other of the best song on the album "Nadine" (Acid Girls The Vibes Are Free Bromix). If you search the internet there are hundreds more mixes.
Who or what are Fools Gold? Wait for it .......
According to My Space "they are a multi-member "collective" that mix Ethiopian soul music, Touareg music from Mali, Congolese secousse music, Eritrean soul music, tropicalia, and '80s dance hits. Oh by the way they also sing some of their songs in Hewbrew for good measure (Nadine). Pictures of the band show a cast of thousands but the two core members from Los Angeles are Luke Top and and Lewis Pesavoc
Alright I fully accept it sounds like a completely tangled and perverse mess and accusations could abound of jumping on the African bandwagon. You can hear the screams of what about Tinariwen, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Ali Farka Toure as I speak and the answer is yes they clearly are huge influences to which the band owe an almighty debt. That said Pesavoc previous band Foreign Born were playing this music when it had no audience and in pure pop terms you could also cite the equal influences of Talking Heads, Vampire Weekend, Yeasayer and just about anyone else you care to mention not least of all one James Brown. But so what? This is some of the most joyous and exhilarating music you will hear and however unlikely it works brilliantly
All the tracks are great but three key reference points for the interested are the infectious African rhythm monster "Surprise Hotel", the aforementioned "Nadine" and "Ha Dvash". All have already been subject to a variety of mixes on the internet but none are as good at the originals. With the variety of languages used I can't tell you about the lyrics but the music speaks for itself. There are bewildering African rhythms, funky beats, sublime guitar lines, horns and instruments which none of us have ever heard of but that form a concoction so downright danceable that you will need to nail your feet to floor to keep them still. Start with Nadine and those wonderful African rhythms coupled with a brilliant pop vocal. And that is the point as Pitchfork rightly observes of Fools Gold "they don't play American music with an Afropop influence. Rather, it's Afropop with a slight American influence."
Many new American bands at the moment take inspiration from the brilliant Fleet Foxes and that fine. Ragged Wood is a seminal album but diversity must also underpin music. Tinariwen are in my humble opinion as important to African music as Bob Marley and the Wailers were to reggae. It is a joy to see other musicians drawing from this well of music and actually taking it forward. Fools Gold have immersed themselves in African music. I can't wait to see them on stage and sing along to the catchy chorus of "Poseidon" even though I havent got the foggiest idea what it is about. In the age of live concerts their joyous music will captivate and they will never know the inside of a Job Centre Plus.
Who or what are Fools Gold? Wait for it .......
According to My Space "they are a multi-member "collective" that mix Ethiopian soul music, Touareg music from Mali, Congolese secousse music, Eritrean soul music, tropicalia, and '80s dance hits. Oh by the way they also sing some of their songs in Hewbrew for good measure (Nadine). Pictures of the band show a cast of thousands but the two core members from Los Angeles are Luke Top and and Lewis Pesavoc
Alright I fully accept it sounds like a completely tangled and perverse mess and accusations could abound of jumping on the African bandwagon. You can hear the screams of what about Tinariwen, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Ali Farka Toure as I speak and the answer is yes they clearly are huge influences to which the band owe an almighty debt. That said Pesavoc previous band Foreign Born were playing this music when it had no audience and in pure pop terms you could also cite the equal influences of Talking Heads, Vampire Weekend, Yeasayer and just about anyone else you care to mention not least of all one James Brown. But so what? This is some of the most joyous and exhilarating music you will hear and however unlikely it works brilliantly
All the tracks are great but three key reference points for the interested are the infectious African rhythm monster "Surprise Hotel", the aforementioned "Nadine" and "Ha Dvash". All have already been subject to a variety of mixes on the internet but none are as good at the originals. With the variety of languages used I can't tell you about the lyrics but the music speaks for itself. There are bewildering African rhythms, funky beats, sublime guitar lines, horns and instruments which none of us have ever heard of but that form a concoction so downright danceable that you will need to nail your feet to floor to keep them still. Start with Nadine and those wonderful African rhythms coupled with a brilliant pop vocal. And that is the point as Pitchfork rightly observes of Fools Gold "they don't play American music with an Afropop influence. Rather, it's Afropop with a slight American influence."
Many new American bands at the moment take inspiration from the brilliant Fleet Foxes and that fine. Ragged Wood is a seminal album but diversity must also underpin music. Tinariwen are in my humble opinion as important to African music as Bob Marley and the Wailers were to reggae. It is a joy to see other musicians drawing from this well of music and actually taking it forward. Fools Gold have immersed themselves in African music. I can't wait to see them on stage and sing along to the catchy chorus of "Poseidon" even though I havent got the foggiest idea what it is about. In the age of live concerts their joyous music will captivate and they will never know the inside of a Job Centre Plus.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Strange but good
Who would have thought that afrobeat with melodies sung in Hebrew go together. Like fusion cooking, fusion music is always interesting but sometimes does not work, or jars, or is... Read more
Published 14 months ago by cp
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fool's Gold is good
Heard 'Nadine' on Radcliffe and Maconie, investigated further on Myspace, liked what I heard, bought the album, great jiggly stuff. Read more
Published on 25 Feb 2010 by Mr. F. G. O'leary
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