Albums to watch

The Tarnished Gold

Beachwood Sparks

The Tarnished Gold

The alt country / melodic psychedelia LA quartet return with their first album in 11 years

ADM rating[?]

7.0

Label
Sub Pop
UK Release date
25/06/2012
US Release date
26/06/2012
  1. 9.0 |   musicOMH

    Other guitar bands may generate more in the way of headlines this year but few will match the quality of The Tarnished Gold
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  2. 9.0 |   Blurt

    Once the Sparks' hallucinatory trippery signaled youth's endless possibilities. Now their songs, even the new ones, are filtered through a golden, dust-moted, late afternoon light
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  3. 8.3 |   A.V. Club

    The Tarnished Gold sounds like a labor of love, an album that Beachwood Sparks wanted to make rather than something the band thought it should make
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  4. 8.0 |   The Guardian

    Their music is so tied to the southern California of the late 60s and early 70s that it's hard not to imagine the songs as outtakes from the Easy Rider soundtrack. Curiously, though, that makes them feel more current than they did first time around
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  5. 8.0 |   All Music

    Will melt whatever preconceptions you have about the band and leave you basking in the warmth of the summer of Beachwood Sparks' career
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  6. 8.0 |   The Independent

    A lovely, warm-hearted gem
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  7. 8.0 |   DIY

    This is fantastic stuff
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  8. 7.7 |   Pitchfork

    An impressively vital showing from a group that deserves to be known as something more than that other Beach band on Sub Pop
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  9. 7.5 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    Another tasteful addition to their dignified catalogue with a collection of songs that enhance rather than tarnish their small but stately legacy
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  10. 7.3 |   Paste Magazine

    Beachwood Sparks has cornered a career on the slow, sweet sound of life and living and light, but it had done so 10 years ago, and its latest album indicates no growth past that point. Still, it’s lovely to bask in
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  11. 7.0 |   Spin

    Sunshine-pop and pedal steel pros glint and gleam like sunlight on the Pacific....Mellow, groovy
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  12. 7.0 |   Uncut

    Tarnished Gold's gorgeous title track is its centerpiece—musically and philosophically—and definitive Beachwood Sparks
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  13. 7.0 |   Rave Magazine

    A palatable modern country album
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  14. 7.0 |   PopMatters

    Though harmonies like this aren’t hard to come by these days, Beachwood Sparks’ laidback sunny singing is nearly irresistible
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  15. 7.0 |   Under The Radar

    The record is meant to fade into the background, and hopefully that means it can be a secret for the rest of us
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  16. 6.5 |   Bowlegs

    A good record, admittedly submerged in the past, but put together by a seasoned group with life’s experiences as their guide
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  17. 6.0 |   Consequence Of Sound

    The key word for this album is pretty. Even the weaker moments feature lushly beautiful vocal harmonies, precise drumming, gorgeous acoustic strumming, and the ever-present slide guitar
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  18. 6.0 |   Slant Magazine

    There's nothing on the album that the band hadn't already done a decade ago and that countless grizzled contemporary troubadours haven't replicated many times over
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  19. 6.0 |   The Observer

    The best bits of The Tarnished Gold hark further back to the Byrds for their sense of breezy acceptance
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  20. 6.0 |   Q

    Won't be to everyone's taste, but devotees will be left dizzy. Print edition only

  21. 6.0 |   Mojo

    Less than cohesive comeback. Print edition only

  22. 5.0 |   Prefix

    The Tarnished Gold is often nebulous and obtuse, trading in atmospherics more than the countrified terra firma of the band’s past
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  23. 4.0 |   The Irish Times

    They’re a fine band, but this album doesn’t do them justice
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Beachwood Sparks: The Tarnished Gold

  • Download full album for just £8.49
  • 1. Forget The Song £0.99
  • 2. Sparks Fly Again £0.99
  • 3. Mollusk £0.99
  • 4. Tarnished Gold £0.99
  • 5. Water From The Well £0.99
  • 6. Talk About Lonesome £0.99
  • 7. Leave That Light On £0.99
  • 8. Nature's Light £0.99
  • 9. No Queremos Oro £0.99
  • 10. Earl Jean £0.99
  • 11. Alone Together £0.99
  • 12. The Orange Grass Special £0.99
  • 13. Goodbye £0.99
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