Acclaimed poet adds music for an arresting debut.
August Gladstone is described as a folksinger, poet, and troubadour influenced by the folk revival of the 60s and 70s. It can be quite problematic at times to introduce a new artist and to succinctly summarise what they are about. So, it is always kind and considerate of the artist to take on this task themselves. Gladstone describes his debut album, The Golden West, thus. “It’s unlike most releases nowadays; 10 tracks of Western-themed antifascist folk-rock poetry – akin to an Acid-Western Leonard Cohen, or a rhinestoned Townes Van Zandt.”
To emphasise the fact that here is a poet putting music to his words, the album release will also be accompanied by a book of poetry and lyrics. Unsurprisingly, then, these are very wordy tracks, and, on tracks such as Talkin’ Wild West, where Gladstone delivers the lyrics at such a rapid speed that it is hard to keep up, then having that book to hand would be a definite asset. Amongst all the serious stuff, Gladstone is not averse to slipping in a little humour now and again, and here he delivers the memorable line “Made love in the desert got sand in my thing, proposed to the wind she rejected the ring, no one could hear me so I started to sing, now I’m a real hotshot in second-hand bling.”
The Cohen comparisons are valid, and the vocal likeness is particularly noticeable on Bury Me with Gladstone taking the vocals for a deep dive here, the mournful fiddle working perfectly in harmony. It is a combination repeated on Hills, in what is arguably the most melodic track on the album. The nomination for the most striking song to feature is the title track that also happens to close the album. It is an epic-sounding song. Think Johnny Cash meets Sergio Leone. The sound is weary cowboy atop a somnolent steed, wandering a desert landscape, but this is Gladstone on a road trip, from Tucson through Santa Fe, Utah and Montana. Read what you will into the final verse as Gladstone’s wanderings come to a close. “Washington is emerald, in paradise and purse. Oregon wears many faces, some for better, some for worse. Perhaps most importantly, and perhaps most perverse, I arrived in Hollywood, received the final curse.”
August Gladstone has worked as a screenwriter and is a respected and award-winning poet. As a first entry into musical territory, The Golden West will bring that literary talent to the attention of a wider audience, but this is not an album to be judged on one listen. Repeat plays allow the poetic merits of this wordsmith to be fully appreciated.
