Reviews
Artist:Jason Haywood & The Goldrush Album: Jason Haywood & The Goldrush
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 10
Website: https://www.jasonhaywood.com/
Canadian singer-songwriter Jason Haywood is no stranger to musical twists and turns over his more than 30 year and still counting career.
2024's eponymously titled Jason Haywood & The Goldrush marks a return to the solo arena following his departure from outlaw country group The Divorcees in 2022. His collaboration with backing band The Goldrush pushes things into an alternative creative direction, perhaps more obviously singer-songwriter, with influences cited as George Harrison, Tom Petty, John Lennon and The Byrds to name but a few.
Jason sings lead and backing vocals and plays all sorts of guitars across the tracks, Jordi Comstock is on drums, Jason Vautour bass, Matt Gillis lead guitar, Christina Martin backing vocals, and finally Dale Murray who recorded, mixed and co-produced the album with the afore mentioned Jason, as well as undertaking various guitar, mandola and backing vocal duties.
Album opener 'On My Way Home' enters on strong, Elton John piano type chords, accompanied by Jason's yearning vocal that floats across the melody as the song builds on orchestral strings, lending a real richness to the proceedings.
'Things Have Changed' boasts smart jangling guitar parts and soaring harmonies bringing to mind mid era REM, 'The Universe' is another piano led number, then the lead guitar line and bumping bass of 'Revolving Door' brings this opening quartet of songs to a close with the particularly strong, earworm chorus "I've been down that road before, slept upon your stone cold floor, walked through your revolving door, won't be going there no more".
Track five, the ageless 'Falling Leaves' is the closest thing on the record so far to straightforward acoustic singer-songwriter fare, sounding like it could have been written anytime over the last 40 years, while the thump and thrash of 'Wasting My Time' immediately breaks any reflective reverie.
Other favourites for me on a consistently strong album are the courtly paced and Dylanesque voiced 'Stay Awhile', closely followed by the alarm call, driving momentum of 'In The Morning'.
The current Jason Haywood & The Goldrush incarnation seems to suit him well. The songs here manage the unlikely feat of sounding immediately familiar with all sorts of nods in the direction of other artists, while never once sounding derivative or forced.
Very clever indeed and thoroughly recommended.
Paul Jackson
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