The Golden Hands Before God Conducts Incredible Magic Band & The Spirits

by Aaron Brophy
ChartAttack Magazine
August 5, 2008

I was feeling bleak on the music-for-psychedelic-outlaws front after shitting all over the last six combined Dandy Warhols and Brian Jonestown Massacre albums and finding only temporary comfort in Dead Meadow, The Black Angels and BRMC. The mind-meltingly named The Golden Hand Before God Conducts Incredible Magic Band & The Spirits from Windsor, Ont. have given me some small bit of skulls-flashing-in-technicolour hope, though. "Communist Party" deserves special mention and probably the highest compliment I can give music of this genre — it could seamlessly fit on Bob Dylan's Bringing It All Back Home. "Girl Half My Age" should do well with the swoony cuties in the front row with their copy vintage dresses, and "Blood Of November" inexplicably sounds like Lightning Dust. Sure, there are some throwaways ("Blue" and "Interlude"), but Here is proof all is not lost for the mop-top 'n' jean jacket crowd. - ChartAttack.com

by Jordan Timm
Eye Weekly, Toronto, ON
August 6, 2008
http://www.eyeweekly.com/music/ondisc/article/35469

If you’re a young Canadian garage band with a soft spot for ‘60s psych, you could find a worse patron than Jace Lasek. The Besnard Lakes frontman’s name is rock-crit catnip after his group’s two-year run as darlings of this country’s indie scene, so his co-production credit on Here makes the obvious talking point. The EP is mostly worthy of his imprimatur; its seven tracks chug along through the same pleasantly retro landscape in which the High Dials and Black Mountain have staked their claim. Songs like “The Ladder” and “Girl Half My Age” ebb and flow under woozy harmony vocals, with enough menace to suggest that this Windsor-bred, Montreal-based five-piece could kick up a real fuss on stage. There’s promise here, beyond their producers’ handiwork.
4 out of 5 stars - Eye Weekly Magazine

iheartmusic.net
May 16, 2008

I know that the deadline for the 2008 Polaris Prize hasn't yet passed, but I can't help but start thinking about what's in store for the Prize's 2009 edition (possibly because I've already made up my mind as to who I think deserves this year's award)...

...Lastly, while The Golden Hands Before God... have a lot of ground to make up before they could even be mentioned in the same breath, hype-wise, as Hey Rosetta! (to say nothing of Wolf Parade), based on the copy of Here they sent me, I'm ready to say they at least deserve to be considered very dark horses. Though their debut (which is due out in July, though they'll have some early copies available at their NxNE show) squeaks in just over the cut-off of half an hour, the band makes the most of their seven tracks. Like The Besnard Lakes before them (a comparison made all the more appropriate by Jace Lasek's presence behind the boards here), The Golden Hands Before God... specialize in woozy psychedelia with a hint of classic rock thrown in for good measure. They're perfectly capable of rocking out when they want to (see "Communist Party" for proof), but as far as I'm concerned, the band is at its best when they really play up the psychedelic part of the equation (as demonstrated by "Interlude"). Whether this will get them noticed, Polaris-wise, is a matter to be determined, but Here at least suggests that The Golden Hands Before God... belong in the discussion. - iheartmusic.net (Music Blog - Ottawa, ON)

By Dan Wolovick
posted June 15, 2008
twowaymonolgues.com

And here ladies and gentlemen is the set of the festival for me. Surrounded by some of my closest friends, including Jenny who has been spending the last few weeks completely obsessing over Golden Hands’ amazing soon to be released EP I was at a fever pitch waiting for this set to start.

The Savannah Room stage is tiny, but all six members fit on it even if it meant tambourine specialist Jamie Greer had to get up to his crazy antics while hardly being able to move his feet. GHBG owned that room… everywhere I looked people were dancing, banging their head, shouting to their friends about how awesome what was going on was. And the band knew it… they channeled all that energy and fired it back at us in the crowd ten-fold. When their trademark set closer “All Together Now” came on Jamie came out and handed a shaker to me and a few others in the crowd and called Aaron from the Speaking Tongues up to sing along. I think it was perhaps my favourite rock moment in my life to date. - Two Way Monologues (Toronto, ON)

by Brooklyn Mike
BrooklynRocks.com (NYC Music Blog)
August 9, 2008
http://brooklynrocks.blogspot.com/2008/08/golden-hands-before-god-here-cd-review.html

Every now and then, the name of a band perfectly describes their style of music. The full name of this band is The Golden Hands Before God Conducts Incredible Magic Band & The Spirits and the band plays blissed out psychedelic music.

The band draws upon a diverse range of sounds which include the psychedelic drone of bands like Spacemen 3 which is then combined with the pop sensibilities of bands like Jesus and Mary Chain, Mazzy Star and Darker Day-era Connels. The disc's leadoff track "One Fine Morning" sets the tone for this EP and here is a video of the band performing the song live in their hometown of Windsor, Ontario.

The cut that is getting the most buzz from this release is "Communist Party", which perfectly captures the 60's/70's classic rock sound. On this track, the band breaks from the layered psychedelic sounds of some of the previous tracks and lays down some ripping Dylan-ish "Subterranean Homesick Blues" style guitar work.

The new EP Here was released in Canada last week on Pop Echo Records and there will be both a US release and tour later this Fall. - BrooklynRocks.com

by Don Wolovick
on Two Way Monologues
June 30, 2008
http://www.twowaymonologues.com/reviews/golden-hands-before-god/here/

It isn’t going to be long now before the Golden Hands Before God are the next big thing in the Canadian music industry. The more I listen to their debut EP, the more convinced I become in the above statement.

I knew they had something when I saw their passionately intense yet always melodic live set at the Silver Dollar, and they took that appreciation to a new level with their tambourine-shattering, shirt-removing, sweaty rock set at the Rancho back in November.

But it wasn’t until about the fourth listen of Here until I realized just how privileged I am to be in a position to get to hear the advance of what could be just a massive release in the Canadian music scene.


Because of my position booking the Rancho, I consider myself as having my finger if not on the pulse of the music scene in Toronto, at least fairly close to it. And lately I have been feeling that there has been a significant push back to authenticity in music. By that I mean almost a revival of bands full of supremely talented musicians who just write excellent, catchy songs, without a lot of bells and whistles, that appeal to a wider audience. This runs contrary to the other trend, = massive bands playing instruments I’ve never heard of that from time to time aren’t needed.

The Golden Hands Before God are proof that you can marry these two trends and do it in a way that is almost impossible to stop listening to. This is a six-piece band that uses every one of their components to the fullest degree. Even tambourine player Jamie Greer is prominently featured throughout the EP, and he might be the most compelling player when you catch a GHBG live show.

On Here, the band captures the intense energy of a GHBG live show while polishing it up just enough not to get nagged for being too garage or too raw. Lead single “Communist Party” has already made my year-end mixtape, and I haven’t even thought about it yet. With this single, Golden Hands do what hundreds of bands have tried to do only to end up receiving a ton of flack for trying to sound like another sixties revival band. It’s a song that would have been beloved in any decade, but right now in 2008 it’s just a kickass rock song that doesn’t try to hide behind anything. You can listen to it on repeat a dozen times in a row and still not find any chinks in its armour.

Opening track “One Fine Morning” has a quieter intensity. The vocals are subdued, pretty and hypnotic -- leading to something but not in a major rush to get there. It does eventually when the numbers “One… two…. One! Two! Three” hit and the song reaches full force with an awesome lick followed by other guitar wizardry from the band. The whole song is very psychedelic and a stellar way to open up an EP.

I wrote the preceding chunk of this review a few weeks back, and I haven’t touched it since. The combination of seeing and being completely floored by the GHBG set at the Savannah Room for NXNE, and how closely this record has been associated with my life and a lot of drama going on lately, had me put it on the backburner.

In particular “Blood of November” the closing track of the EP has become a very visceral listening experience for me. When a song has the ability to piece your life in the way this song has done for me and others, that is perhaps the biggest compliment a musician can get. It’s a song written by someone who knows nothing about you, but it’s done in such a profound way that it can be related to by so many.


All that is missing is the chanting of “All Together Now”, which the Golden Hands Before God have developed as their trademark finisher to their sets. But maybe that’s better kept as a surprise. Regardless, this is the best piece of music I’ve heard this year.

Score: 9.3 - Two Way Monologues (Toronto, Ontario)

by Brian Tucker
Bootleg Magazine (Wilmington, NC, USA)
July 30, 2008

The Golden Hands Before God Conducts Incredible Magic Band & The Spirits may be the longest band name in recent memory but don’t let the largesse of words fool you, or lead to thoughts of pretentiousness. A name that long is merely allegorical to the explosiveness and range of their sound. The seven tracks on Here figuratively begin on a mountaintop and gleefully take their time getting to the bottom.
GHBG sounds like The Smithereens emulating The Pixies, or The Black Angels having fun instead of brooding. There’s sonic blast in their jagged guitar rhythms juxtaposed with elegantly eerie vocal calm of the singers. The band cleanly blends mood and attitude with raw power resulting in waves of sound that crash, topple and embrace. The result is an electric congregation of sound and emotion.
‘One Fine Morning’ opens with reverberation, declaring its arrival, like a The Church song frying on acid. It finds strength in hollowed out vocals and a wonderful descending guitar riff that’s like unbending leadership. ‘The Ladder’ is pure crash and burn, contorting like a straitjacket fit. The band’s vocals are witchy and sugary, mesmerizing in a faux deceitful way. ‘Communist Party’ is a rave-up. Its twangy spitfire Chuck Berry solo notes plow through a swirling mash of garage rock and slow-paced rockabilly. The harmonica on ‘Blue’ eclipses any dissonance the band may have about crafting something quixotic. The song’s harmonies cool things down, adding ambiance to an already infectious collection of material and ‘Interlude’ may be the musical embodiment of catharsis.
But Here is more than psychedelia and garage rock, it’s sheer power and personage. Here rumbles like a gentle giant in a china store. It doesn’t mean to be so forceful; it’s just damned pretty in that way. - Bootleg Magazine (Wilmington, North Carolina)

by Dalson Chen
The Windsor Star
August 5, 2008

The Golden Hands Before God Conducts Incredible Magic Band & The Spirits -- Here

The much-anticipated debut CD of the band with the longest name in Windsor shows why they've attracted cross-Canada interest. There's a palpable sense of drama in these seven tracks of dark garage rock and twilight twang. Hypnotic, enigmatic, suspenseful -- this is rock music that evokes sensations like a film or a novel. Each song is a character in its own right, from the poignant Girl Half My Age, to the rabble-rousing Communist Party, to the mournful Blood of November. Favourite track: The Ladder, in which the band craftily shifts rhythms and moods in the midst of the swaggering main riff. Is it possible to describe a band as simultaneously raw and refined? Credit should be given to the great recording job that perfectly captures their dusty style. That's especially true of the vocals, which bring an unsettling, other-worldly edge to the entire proceedings. If the Golden Hands were a movie, they'd be directed by David Lynch. It's only a matter of time before these guys are critical darlings on a wider level.
5/5 - The Windsor Star

by Matthew Pollesel
iheartmusic.net
August 5, 2008

It's not often that a band's name gives you a keen insight into their m.o., but in The Golden Hands Before God...'s case, it actually does. Minus the ellipsis, you see, their full name is The Golden Hands Before God Conducts Incredible Magic Band & The Spirits. Even though the name makes no sense whatsoever when you think about it for anything more than a second, it still perfectly captures the spirit of psychedelia that makes up a big portion their sound. Much of the album (most notably "Girl Half My Age" and "Interlude", though it pops up throughout) floats by in a narcotic haze, with swirling guitars and layered vocals creating a druggy atmosphere.

In this respect, they're helped immensely by Jace Lasek's presence behind the boards. Much as he does with his own band, Lasek consistently helps the band make really dense music sound totally accessible.

Also helping them: the fact that they're prone to breaking out into moments that come straight off of classic rock radio. "Communist Party" is probably the best example of this. It's a rollicking good time, and if you didn't know any better, you'd probably guess that the band was very hairy (which Golden Hands... are, come to think of it), drank heavily (check again) and came straight out of the '70s (two out of three isn't bad).

Of course, the band is at its best when it brings those two sides together. "Ladder" has a huge riff at its core, and for the most part it sounds like a giant stomping across the earth, but its moments of rocking out are interspersed with slow drones that make it feel as if said giant has stepped off a cliff and is floating through the air. Much like their producer's band, The Golden Hands Before God... seem to delight in showing that heaviness has more one meaning.

Their delight probably stems from the fact they're really good at showing off all those sides. In fact, the only thing I can complain about with Here is that it didn't come out of nowhere to blow me away: from the moment I first heard them back in December, I had a feeling they'd be great, and now that they have an album out, they've completely lived up to those expectations. For anyone who hasn't yet heard about The Golden Hands Before God..., all I can say is that you're in for a treat. - iheartmusic.net (Music Blog - Ottawa, ON)