The Golden Dawn was a short-lived psychedelic rock band from Austin, Texas, which formed in 1966 and broke up shortly after their one and only album’s release in 1968. Unfortunately for the band, the group’s record was withheld from release for nearly a year, at which point it was labelled as a copycat record of music that was released after The Golden Dawn recorded their album. Though not with the original lineup, the band has resurfaced in the past couple decades with the lead singer and lyric writer forming different incarnations under the name The Golden Dawn and recording new music. I’m pretty interested to listen to this album, so with that said I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Evolution” starts extremely gently with a light shimmering of chimes, before slowly working into a smooth psychedelic rock soundscape that reminds me a fair deal of The 13th Floor Elevators. Oh wow, I really dig the rattling of the chimes and how loudly it’s mixed into the soundscape, while the guitars and bass have a super relaxing psychedelic rock jam in the background, and the drums keeps the tracking grooving forward. There’s a very pleasant, inviting sound to this soundscape. Almost as if you’re on the porch of someone’s home waiting to be let in on a windy day, while there windchimes rattle around next to you. Really sweet track.
Oh wow, “This Way Please” starts out with a super warm, pleasant psychedelic sound that reminds me a lot of an album by The Asteroid No. 4 from a few years ago. Wow, this soundscape is super pleasant, and has an incredibly warm, mellow soundscape with guitars that delicately play into the ethereal world, gentle vocals that seem to stretch and reverberate throughout the soundscape, some fairly gentle drums that set the tone for the track, picking up and slowing down in intensity at different points in the track. Oh wow, the bass is super pleasant, and connects the rest of instrumentation together quite nicely with little movements on the neck that subtly tie things together. Great tune.
“Starvation” starts off hot right away with some really tasty psychedelic blues rock playing, with gritty guitar, super groovy drums, and super tasty vocals, which all remind me of The Yardbirds to some degree. Oh wow, this instrumental breakdown is super tasty, and the song sounds even more syncopated and intense when the vocals come back on – awesome. Great track.
Holy smokes, “I’ll Be Around” starts out with some super tasty gritty, bluesy twang with the guitars and a super tasty bluesy harmonica that adds great accentuations as the garage rock sounding guitars seemingly glide from one part to the next from the background. Holy smokes, the drums, bass, and guitar all work together as a cohesive unit as the band jams out. Great track.
“Seeing Is Believing” has a super interesting, nearly psychedelic country folk sound that reminds me a bit of a psychedelic version of Longbranch/Pennywhistle. Oh wow, the swirling guitar lines are really sweet as the acoustic guitar, bass, and drums all work together to form a super flavorful rhythm section. I really dig the percussive strumming of the acoustic guitar, which still adds some nice melodic accentuations with its rhythmic stylings in this track. Great tune.
“My Time” sounds like a super groovy 1960s west coast psychedelic rock tune at the start. Oh wow, this track is sweet. The chorus vocals reach far out into the soundscape as the climb at the chorus alongside the super flavorful distortion of the electric guitar. Oh wow, the guitar work and other instrumentation reminds me a little bit of Nils Lofgren and Crazy Horse – the band feels very much in tune and in sync with the extended jams in this one. Oh wow, there’s even a bit of a raga tinge in the guitar work to this one in the jam for a moment – super sweet. Oh wow, the outro at the end of the tune takes the jam out there for a moment before the instrumentation fades out. Great track.
“A Nice Surprise” has a really pleasant psychedelic garage pop sort of sound at the beginning, which generally becomes a bit more rock-inclined as the tune grooves along. Oh wow, this is sweet. I really dig how the vocals seem to melt and reverberate throughout the soundscape while the bass creates a nearly rapid pulse behind the vocals from the background. Great tune.
“Every Day” has a really interesting garage rock chord progression at the beginning that has an interesting, nearly grungy sound to it. Oh wow, there’s a raga-inflected jam for a moment, and I’m not quite sure what instrument it was, but it was a pretty tasty quick jam. Oh wow, the melody has a really interesting descending pattern in this tune that seems to continually walk around the soundscape. Great track.
“Tell Me Why” starts out in a rather experimentally psychedelic manner before dropping into a super tasty raga-inflected psychedelic rock tune. Holy smokes, the mixture of the harmonica and the reverse-like raga sounds are super interesting. The band and instrumentation really envelops the soundscape very nicely in this one. Great track.
“Reaching out to You” takes on a different, acoustic approach at the beginning of this track with some gentle, nearly ominous acoustic guitar playing accompanying some falsetto vocals. Oh wow, I really dig the gentle bass playing that seems to guide the tune along as it starts to come to a close. Oh wow, I really dig the effects on the outro, almost making the tune seem as though it’s fading through a closing doorway. Really sweet track and really nice way to tie together the album.
Wow, this was a super sweet listening experience. I’m already looking into picking up a reissue of this on vinyl whenever I can. There’s a great mix of mellow and energetic psychedelic rock playing incorporates psychedelic garage rock flavors with pop sensibilities of the time, some raga, and a tinge of country and folk. If you dig psychedelic rock from the 60s, or are intrigued by what I said about the album, you might want to consider giving this one a listen. If you do decide to give this album a listen, I sincerely hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A