aaamusic | On 17, Oct 2010

Golden Sea is simply a beautiful album. Beautiful vocals, beautiful lyrics, beautiful soundscapes. While some musicians have trouble maintaining a mood throughout the entirety of an album without falling into repetition, Our Broken Garden manage to overcome this issue, apparently effortlessly – each and every song feels connected to the last, yet simultaneously brings something unique to the record in its own way. Anna Bronsted’s haunting vocals are completely in sync with the gentle sounds that carry her words along (composed of a very understated combination of drum beats, synths, and violins, to name a few); when the two blend, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’ve fallen into a (not always peaceful) dream. Bronsted’s self-proclaimed admiration of classical music isn’t hard to find here – tracks such as The Feral combine typical elements of contemporary ‘dream-pop’ with an underlying sense of drama that wouldn’t seem out of place in anything from Beethoven to a Max Richter record. Golden Sea is not the kind of album you can dip in and out of with ease – it works best when listened to as a whole, as a concept – it’ll suck you in and get under your skin. A suitably excellent follow-up to the band’s 2008 debut, When Your Blackening Shows, and definitely a must-listen.

Author: Katharine Sparks