GoldenAlphabet
New York City, New York, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2006 | SELF
Music
Press
Tommy Cormier is the singer/keyboardist for local dance-punk act Feel Good Revolution, as well as a member of Young Mothers. In 2005, he began a solo project under the name Golden Alphabet. Since then, the project has blossomed into a full-fledged band with, as their bio puts it, an "open door" membership policy: "Local musician friends were invited to attend practices and contribute to the writing process." The same goes for the band's live performances: You never know who's going to be sharing the stage with Cormier.
Cormier's got a lot of friends. Nearly 20 musicians, most of whom perform in other local bands, are listed in the credits of the band's debut album, A List of Our Worries, being released on CD this week on Worry Doll Records.
The album contains 10 tracks that fall under the wide-ranging category of indie rock, though there are variations in sound. After a minute-plus as a ramshackle instrumental, opening track "Visionary Quest" morphs into what sounds like a passage from a long-lost rock opera—it wouldn't sound out of place on The Wall—with Cormier singing, "If I'm just a little boy with a stick in his eye, I'll never be a Jesuit / I am self-deny." After a little synth-led passage, it leads smoothly into "This Cactus Country," a chugging little tune with a big sound (fun game: count the instruments!) and a gorgeously melancholy melody. The lyrics on the album, which are largely above-par, carry the weight of melancholy, too: "I've been buying into salesmanship / 'Good job! You know, you're really doing well' / I wonder how long Humpty Dumpty sat there / I wonder how long before he fell."
If I had to pithily describe the overall vibe of A List of Our Worries, I'd say it's like an indie-folk take on what Modest Mouse or Arcade Fire does (with Bright Eyes in there, too), but that's selling it short, especially when a song like "Me Lovely," the bulk of which resembles no one so much as the Tom Tom Club, comes on.
Golden Alphabet performs at an all-ages CD-release party on Friday, Dec. 3, at Solar Culture Gallery. The Pork Torta and Faster Than Light open at 9 p.m. Admission is $5, and CDs will be $5, too.
- Tucson Weekly
Discography
-Party Music Mic. - 2006 Self Release
-Everyone! Everyone! Everyone! - 2008 Worry Dolls Records Compilation CD featuring GA song "Me vs. Me"
-Rodeo Sessions - 2009 Worry Dolls Records Compilation CD featuring GA song "Death Spawns Death"
-A List of Our Worries - 2010 GoldenAlphabet's Full length release under Worry Dolls Records.
Photos
Bio
Tommy Cormier is the singer/keyboardist for local dance-punk act Feel Good Revolution, as well as a member of Young Mothers. In 2005, he began a solo project under the name Golden Alphabet. Since then, the project has blossomed into a full-fledged band with, as their bio puts it, an "open door" membership policy: "Local musician friends were invited to attend practices and contribute to the writing process." The same goes for the band's live performances: You never know who's going to be sharing the stage with Cormier.
Cormier's got a lot of friends. Nearly 20 musicians, most of whom perform in other local bands, are listed in the credits of the band's debut album, A List of Our Worries, being released on CD this week on Worry Doll Records.
The album contains 10 tracks that fall under the wide-ranging category of indie rock, though there are variations in sound. After a minute-plus as a ramshackle instrumental, opening track "Visionary Quest" morphs into what sounds like a passage from a long-lost rock opera—it wouldn't sound out of place on The Wall—with Cormier singing, "If I'm just a little boy with a stick in his eye, I'll never be a Jesuit / I am self-deny." After a little synth-led passage, it leads smoothly into "This Cactus Country," a chugging little tune with a big sound (fun game: count the instruments!) and a gorgeously melancholy melody. The lyrics on the album, which are largely above-par, carry the weight of melancholy, too: "I've been buying into salesmanship / 'Good job! You know, you're really doing well' / I wonder how long Humpty Dumpty sat there / I wonder how long before he fell."
If I had to pithily describe the overall vibe of A List of Our Worries, I'd say it's like an indie-folk take on what Modest Mouse or Arcade Fire does (with Bright Eyes in there, too), but that's selling it short, especially when a song like "Me Lovely," the bulk of which resembles no one so much as the Tom Tom Club, comes on.
Golden Alphabet performs at an all-ages CD-release party on Friday, Dec. 3, at Solar Culture Gallery. The Pork Torta and Faster Than Light open at 9 p.m. Admission is $5, and CDs will be $5, too.
-Stephen Seigel
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