[Available as a Download, CD or Record // https://eternalsummers.bandcamp.com/album/gold-and-stone]
Back in 2013 when I first started this site I went through a lot of music in a very short period of time and somehow managed to refer to the Eternal Summers album "Correct Behavior" from 2012- released roughly three years ago from when I'm writing this- as simply "Mazzy Starr". What I find most funny about that review from what seems like forever ago though is that at the time I was struggling with trying to find adequate comparisons for music that was lead by female vocals because I was mostly comparing everything with the Cranberries and maybe two other similar artists (I also always had the Blondie/Fleetwood Mac thing down as well) So if I had just listened to "Correct Behavior" a little bit better I would have found a new source of comparison for all of these artists I've been listening to since. It's a real kick in the pants.
The songs on "Gold and Stone" are dreamy and hypnotic then they turn into loudness. There are melodies, yet they are steady just the same. I can hear a little bit of Blondie in here, but I also do hear the Cranberries at other times as well. The album is just good clean fun and the thing is that it has a fairly non-threatening innocence to it which has always bothered me on other albums because it just makes it feel bland and boring, but somehow Eternal Summers keeps it lively enough that this is just far too enjoyable to think anything but happy thoughts about. It's like when they tell you to go to your happy place and I imagine this is the soundtrack to that. (Yes, tags such as "non-threatening" usually mean "boring" or "bland" or even "generic" but not in this case)
A solid reason why I like this album and feel as if it does not become boring is simply the fact that it gets better as it goes on. It starts off strong enough to hook you in, but I find some of the best songs on "Gold and Stone" to be at the end. Perhaps my favorite song on here is "Black Diamond" as that is just such a great example of everything a rock song should be. There is a little bit of pop on "Bloom", the final song, but it is still one of my favorites as well. But picking favorite songs is for radio as I'll just listen to this one all the way through and suggest you do the same.
I feel like the vast majority of writers- or at least those who review things- find it hard to apologize and say they were wrong. I at least feel as if it is easier for a writer to turn on someone they liked than it is for them to admit that they were wrong about something they wrote negatively about. I am not one of those writers though and I never have been (never will be). For me, admitting I'm wrong is easy and I was wrong about Eternal Summers. I'm glad that I listened to this and gave it a full chance before going back to my previous review and "sticking to my guns" as my previous review was obviously wrong.
I'm going to go back now and listen to everything Eternal Summers has ever recorded and should I not review it all just know that my opinion of them has not changed I was simply mistaken and naive to simply write off their previous album so quickly and without really taking the time to listen to it properly. I don't feel like saying "Mazzy Starr" is a bad review in the sense that if you like Mazzy Starr then you will like it and granted it could have been a lot worse- and I have written worse things in my younger days (Oh, the emo)- but it was just not the review that Eternal Summers deserved and for that I am eternally apologetic.
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