Stay Golden are a Power-Pop quartet composed of members from Texas, Illinois, and Indiana. Having made a name for themselves in Chicago’s scene, the group already have the self-released Three Day Weekend under their belt. Their first EP is a hook-laden record of five tracks that will brings back memories of early All Time Low, Fall Out Boy, and Mayday Parade. On Stay Golden’s second EP, The Compass & The Vessel, the band shows even more ability in crafting extremely catchy songs; this time, however, they have the production in favor of their huge sound.
Bitter Scene opens the record with the most bitterly sweet catchy guitars and vocal melodies that will be stuck in one’s head for days thereafter. While lead singer Matt Ayo begs his target to not leave him on a negative note, the band has the listener rooting against his muse no matter how nice of a guy he is. Bitter Scene is destined to be a fan favorite in Chicago (and elsewhere).
In Days We’d Take Over, Stay Golden create the next summer anthem just a season too late. Although the tune is a simple four-chorder, the lyrics reel the listener in and won’t let go: “You know we’ll live forever / through all these memories never meant shit to me. / I guess that’s all well and fine in the end, / you’ll never get my sympathy / you were my best friend”. While the song’s meaning comes down to one friend telling off another (somewhat of a downer topic), Stay Golden manage to pull a Motion City Soundtrack with their music and make the theme juxtapose with the music in a great way to make a sad tune into a catchy screw-you number that will 8become a part of infinite mixes that will pick up teenagers after their relationships end.
Frenemies (Hey Kevin!) has a tint of Four Year Strong in the guitar riffs and a snare-bass drum beat that almost every up-and-coming Pop-Punk band nowadays exclusively uses. While this wouldn’t work with most other bands, it is a great idea on Stay Golden’s part because they show a more technical side that will appeal to more stricter pop-punk fans. Nevertheless, they don’t forget the hooks in the chorus and keep the song at just under three minutes, assuring them that they get the point across in a short and sweet tune.
The Compass & The Vessel ends on Benefits With Friends, which is basically the definitive song of Stay Golden thus far in their short career. Ayo’s voice carries the lyrics off his tongue with epic singalong melodies: “Let me know / just let it go / you’re the compass, I’m the vessel / let me show / you what we do / I swear I’ll make a believer out of you”. The song continues in a fantastic foot-tapping manner where one can feel that Stay Golden are in their groove and enjoying every second of it. Like most Pop-Punk records, The Compass & The Vessel close with gang vocals but have the technicality similar to that of With The Punches carrying the tune underneath them. Unlike most Pop-Punk bands, however, they don’t rely on the refrain to carry the song off for a minute and a half and just close it and the record with a natural and quick fadeout.
Stay Golden take elements of Power-Pop and Pop-Punk bands and combine them in a fresh and hook-ridden way that will keep their music on repeat for an extremely long time. It’s no wonder that the band have made a name for themselves with Three Day Weekend. With The Compass & The Vessel, Stay Golden only solidify their place in the scene as a band which does not plan on stopping the momentum it’s building.
Tracklist:
1. Bitter Scene
2. Days We'd Take Over
3. Knows No Hope
4. Frenemies (Hey Kevin!)
5. Benefits With Friends
Rating:
Written by Joe Wasserman
