This summer, Whitelands’ “Golden Daze” found its way onto my rotation, tagging along with me on subway rides, street strolls, and more subway rides. Soaring guitars. Echo. Reverb. Layers upon layers. Enough for me to stay in my own world. To escape the city while remaining entirely inside it.
It’s typical Whitelands in many ways. A breed of shoegaze that has leaned more heavily on melody and even discernible lyrics over its eight-year span. But “Golden Daze” comes out of left field for just a moment. It’s that familiar bass line. Something I can’t quite put my finger on. And before I can figure it out, the dueling guitars start their dueling. There might be drips of post-punk coating the underbelly of this closing track.
Those guitars swirl around while the drums live and die by the hi-hat, keeping it all moving upward. It’s the type of shoegaze that washes over you but leaves you with just enough moments to come up for air during the verses. Push and pull. Push and pull.
The poetic fragments feel pretty typical of Whitelands’ lyrics. Like reverberated haikus. That’s the appeal of “Golden Daze.” Maybe one day I’ll hear the song and finally remember that familiar reference in the bass line. But maybe it’s best that this song doesn’t give up all its secrets.
“DON’T WAIT ANOTHER SEASON.
I’LL DRIVE AND DRIVE AND DRIVE, BABY.
DON’T WAIT UNTIL THE SUNRISE.”