Over the past few days, autumn has suddenly descended upon where I live. It has been rainy and (relatively) cold and I think summer is finally on its knees. However there has been a ray on sunshine in my house, albeit in musical form: the self-titled debut album by Golden Suits. Golden Suits is the solo project of Fred Nicolaus, who is better known as one of Department of Eagles (along with Grizzly Bear’s Daniel Rossen). He calls upon the services of a wide range of talented friends including Rossen himself and members of Ava Luna and Mason Jar Music.
The album is a sunny collection of folk-pop songs, more polished and accessible than In Ear Park, although not without emotional weight. The phrase ‘Golden Suits’ is taken from a short story by John Cheever (aka “the Chekov of the Suburbs”) in which a man’s life begins to unravel, which provides and intentional parallel with a period in Nicolaus’s own life, in which he lost an apartment to a rat infestation, went through a difficult breakup and traveled to Germany to learn about his grandfather’s death in the Second World War. Indeed it was a personal obsession with the work of Cheever that inspired many of the songs on the album.
But as I have already mentioned, the album mainly deals in charming pop songs, perhaps along the lines of a slightly left-field take on classics such as Paul Simon or the solo work of McCartney and Lennon. Listen to the lead single Swimming in ’99 below and try to resist tapping your feet.
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You can buy the album now from Yep Roc Records or from all good record stores.