Golden Ocean - Out Now
08 March 05
50 Foot Wave release their debut album "Golden Ocean" on March 7th 2005.
"the most visceral, convincing and goddamn rockingest rock songs Hersh has written for years... 50 Foot Wave is an entirely thrilling, utterly unexpected blast out of the blue" (Uncut)
“back on blistering form" (NME)
"a noisy and welcome surprise" (The Observer)
"cranks up a punky guitar frenzy ... fuelled by wounded fury" (New York Times)
Formed by Kristin Hersh in 2003, 50 Foot Wave released a self-titled mini album last year - 6 blistering songs whose electrifying energy astonished anyone who encountered them. Now the band follow that up with "Golden Ocean", their full-length debut.
50 Foot Wave is Hersh’s first new band since she founded the influential Throwing Muses, and it's a harder, faster, more direct experience than anything she has recorded before. Kristin sums up her vision for 50 Foot Wave thus : "What could be more fun that turning everything up to 10 and screaming your head off for an hour every night?"
Described in Kristin's own words, these are the songs which make up "Golden Ocean" :
Long Painting
"Long Painting" is the name of a Seattle company that was being accused of poisoning the environment when we lived there. We also have a very "long painting" of my husband done by the artist Rufo, hanging in our living room. A little beauty, a little ugly...it all works out in the end. Or it's supposed to, anyway.
Bone China
Bones and dishes break, so does most everything else, especially when you're jumpy and twitchy.
Clara Bow
Summer is SO stupid and EVERYBODY likes it. Why? After she retired, Clara Bow moved out to the desert with her husband and sons and then lost control of her brain.
Pneuma
Pneuma is soul breath. We have to breathe through pollution and see past the idiots and hear each other through their inane chatter.
Dog Days
A dirty beach, angry coffee, a prickly touch... all things that are supposed to be soothing but which aren't always on your side.
Petal
Going home, you find out that home's gone, so you try to remember it exactly as it was.
Sally is a Girl
"Sally" is about a blackout in August in New Orleans. It's very hot there, even at night, so everybody was outside walking around, trying to keep cool. It didn't work. The title comes from an episode of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" about gender confusion and stereotyping.
El Dorado
This is a "life on the road" song, unfortunately. Sorry. Most of my life has been spent on the road. At least it's not a country song, though. When you get fried eggs in a diner, they always look like eyeballs.
Ginger Park
Remembering what it was like to grow up in a beach town... greasy french fries and glossy tourists. Diving... Killing time falling into each other, each of you hoping you're good enough for the other one.
Golden Ocean
The "golden ocean" is what my 8 year old son, Wyatt, calls the LA lights at night. He puts me to shame by seeing beauty in everything, when I just glance up and then back down again.
"Golden Ocean" is available on CD and as a digital download which you can buy by clicking here.