The Golden Republic
(Astralwerks)
If you don’t like the weather in Texas, just wait five minutes. For a band from Kansas City, Mo., the Golden Republic sure acts a lot like Texas weather. The fourpiece’s eponymous debut might be the most diverse album of the last five minutes. A teaser of an opener, “The Turning of the World” is two minutes of classic rock and a first glimpse at Harry Anderson’s catchy refrains and Jimmy Eat World vibrato. Bouncy riffs and melodic vox stick to the pop path with energetic album highlight “You Almost Had It.” After the sexy-slow “She’s So Cold,” the Republic hits its first serious block of cheese with easy-rhymer “Rows of People.” If you’re lactose intolerant, along comes a synth-heavy shaker in “NYC.” Again, Anderson runs into some lyrical problems, but having pop, rock, and disco all introduced in 15 minutes is enough reason to ignore the lines “I won’t do you wrong, I won’t talk dirty. Can’t we all bang a gong? This is rock & roll, yeah, and I know it won’t hurt me.” Corniness is ubiquitous, but who said rock & roll had to be serious? And when you put a fantastic white-boy rap from the future on your record (see “Robots”), God bless you. The truth is, with the wealth of music on this album, the nascent Golden Republic spreads itself a little thin. If they keep on having fun like this on and off the record, then the next five minutes hold a lot of success. (Saturday, March 19, 11:30pm @ Antone’s)
This article appears in March 18 • 2005.