GOLDEN OMENS

Welsh band SOFT HEARTED SCIENTISTS first appeared back in 2004, when they released a couple of singles, and have since been a part of the local music scene in Wales, steadily releasing new music and slowly gaining recognition by music lovers. "Golden Omens" is their most recent studio album, and was released in 2016 via their own label The Hip Replacement.

"Golden Omens" is an old fashioned double album, put together in a manner that begs for a double LP release at some point if the commercial interest is high enough. Those fond of acoustic based music exploring landscapes of gentle but at times quirky and subtly weird psychedelia should probably be the ones that note down the name of this album first and foremost, although I suspect that many that also enjoy what is described as singer/songwriter music these days should also find this release to be of interest.

At the time of writing this in 2020, this 2016 album is the most recent full-length release of new material, so hopefully this means there is more due soon. I first came across the band with the release of last year's 'Please Read Me' single, so hopefully that is a portent that more will be here in the near future, as music as such as this is just so good and enjoyable. 'Shiver Me Timbers' is a classic beat number from the mid-Sixties, with a chorus and bridge which is solid Hollies, yet even with less than three and a half minutes to play with the still turn it into some more than 'just' a pop number. We even get some electric guitar (which is unusual for them) which sounds as if it has been taken from 'Pictures of Matchstick Men'!

This was released originally as a double CD set, with a total running time of 65 minutes, so it just begs to be put out on vinyl as music like this is from the era when CDs hadn't been thought of, and streaming a distant nightmare, as this is from the times when people sat and really listened to music. They obviously have a real thing for Billy Joe Cyrus though, as they return to him in 'Rue The Day', following on from 'Diving Bell' all those years earlier. I do firmly appreciate the sentiment they give to Simon Cowell in the same number, and although they are making a humorous statement it is also a very sad indictment on what many people today think of as musical culture. Music is not an entity to be given away free of charge, nor just to be played in the background, it is something which is meant to be listened to intently, and musicians rewarded for their efforts.

Soft Hearted Scientists continue to release music with real heart, looking back strongly to a time when songs such as these dominated the charts, and refuse to bow down to what people expect these days and instead continue to forge ahead with their own style of psychedelia, folk, singer songwriter, poppy majestic tunes, and is a band all lovers of real music, not the plastic disposable nature of so many, need to discover.