It’s a privilege to premiere the video for The Golden Hour, the opening track from Michael Weston King’s latest album. It’s great to see all the performers at work in precise collaboration; Colin Elliot’s insistent keys, Shez Sheridan’s high, bending notes on the Telecaster and Dean Beresford’s upbeat drumming all add to the depth of The Golden Hour and to the joyous musical connection the song creates. There’s something of The E Street Band in the fullness and unity of the sound. For his own part, King delivers one of his strongest vocal performances, full of ranging melody, soaring intensity, and pure tunefulness; his voice is firm, displaying conviction and purpose, and there is a timeless quality to King’s searching, yearning singing.
The Golden Hour is a highlight from King’s brand-new album, Nothing Can Hurt Me Anymore, which is out now on CRS / Continental Record Services. Our readers will be familiar with the story and circumstances behind its creation. King was in the process of writing a new My Darling Clementine album with his wife, the artist Lou Dalgleish, when that project was derailed by the loss of their granddaughter, Bebe King, in tragic and unimaginable circumstances. Lou and Michael responded to events through their music, and, of course, there’s deep sadness and grief in this collection of songs. However, there’s also something wonderful: healing, strength, togetherness and hope. And it is simply a remarkable album of beautifully-crafted, melodic, classic songs.
The narrative behind The Golden Hour is important – there is impossible loss, poetically described: “Don’t tell me it’s over, don’t tell me they’ve gone…Who carries on as normal when it does not exist…Some summers last forever, some never begin.” However, there is also a commentary on how events in Southport were hijacked by the far-right: “We took our sorrow home; some took it to the street.” Also, most significantly, there’s truly a magic and a spiritual power in King’s words: “I’ll keep searching for the golden hour. // I have no strength, and I have no power. // I’ve stood sentry at the tower of strong for far too long. // So let me in. Let the healing begin.” This isn’t just about tragedy. It’s about what comes next. It’s about responding from the heart and, together with our loved ones, finding hope, and reason, and meaning. Musically and lyrically, The Golden Hour is triumphant and a triumph.
