Goldenboy
BIO
You can’t blame Goldenboy’s Shon Sullivan for taking a little breather. Since the release of his band’s 2003 debut Blue Swan Orchestra –– a KCRW favorite that featured guest vocals by Elliott Smith on “Summertime” –– Goldenboy has trekked endlessly on the road, supporting the likes of Bright Eyes, Neil Finn, Stephen Malkmus and Grandaddy. For most of these shows, Sullivan was doing double-duty as well, playing multiple instruments with Finn, the Rentals, Eels and others on tours across America, Europe and all points in between.
Straight out of suburban Diamond Bar, near LA, Sullivan had been spotted early on, first as a member of Spain. When Elliott Smith got wind of Sullivan’s musical prowess, he drafted him into his band; while performing with Smith, Sullivan began developing his own material, and thus the Goldenboy concept was born.
A hauntingly lyrical batch of indie-pop brilliance, Blue Swan Orchestra was recorded with drummer Bryan Bos and bears distant traces of Smith’s influence. Underneath the Radio (2006) expanded upon the debut, enlisting a cast of heavies including Neil Finn, Lisa Germano, Scott McPherson, Matt Sharp and Phil Jordan.
The new Sleepwalker dovetails nicely with the understated charms of Goldenboy’s first two albums. The hard-charging yet plaintive “Different Moon” starts the set with a gentle vocal urgency and an insistent drive. Sullivan’s soothing pop harmonies reveal an emotional intricacy never far from the surface, such as in the layered guitars of “She Belongs to Me” or the playful piano of “Chelsea Girl,” with its classic ‘60s-‘70s chord progressions and slide guitar frills. “Body and Soul” justifies its five minutes-plus in a sprawling mini-odyssey whose buoyant rock thump undergoes lush harmonic twists along the way. Sullivan’s use of vintage keyboards and a crystal microphone found in a second-hand music store in Australia give songs like “Anna Said” a persuasive, comforting sound you never want to end.
Sleepwalker was recorded at Interstellar and Leaning Pine studios by Sullivan and Jon Crawford, and mastered and sequenced by veteran engineer Don Tyler, who mastered all of Elliott Smith’s albums. Tyler has given the album an inviting warmth that’s refreshing to hear.
“It all has to do with not looking at the clock, taking our time, and trying to really develop the arrangements and the feel of the sound,” says Sullivan. “The ambience thing was important.”
RELEASES
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Goldenboy – Sleepwalker (coming Feb 8, 2011)
1. Different Moon |
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Goldenboy – Underneath The Radio (2006)
1. Ice Breaker Blues |
Great Northern 
Wallpaper. 
