A day in the life...
Within around fifteen minutes of meeting James Dale from Goldheart Assembly I know almost everything there is to know about them. In a spout of absolute sincerity, Dale divulges the band’s fee for tonight’s headline show at the Scala and its premature demise. He tells me about their disdain for certain things that I won’t divulge, their money woes, how much they owe their label and all other manner of things you don’t tend to tell a stranger, let alone a journalist.
We’ve got a busy day ahead of us. Soundchecks are well underway and tonight the five-piece have stretched out to eight members, adding a clarinet, backing vocals and two oil drums to the show. James is quick to confess his giddy air of pre-show nerves and excitement. They’ve just returned from a triumphant string of shows at SXSW and an appearance on the Carson Daily show which aired to over a million people. So what’s there to be worried about?
Goldheart’s 2010 debut, ‘Wolves and Thieves’, was a fluctuating amalgamation of angelically subdued hymnal folk, towering British indie-rock and judicious lyrical pennings. Earmarked by some as a ‘British Fleet Foxes’, it seems that some of the press missed the heart of this record. “I just feel like we got lumped in with this new folk movement that’s going on over here,” James explains. “All you hear all the fucking time is beards and harmonies, beards and harmonies. I’m far more influenced by The Smiths, the Beatles, The Clash and British bands than I am by the Fleet Foxes,” he continues, before comparing the diverse innards of ‘Astral Weeks’ and ‘Moondance’. “I can see why they would compare us to them with the harmonies but it’s more Beach Boys than Fleet Foxes.”
It’s 4.30pm and with still no sign of any promoter or rider, we make a quick stop off at the pub before heading to the 6Music studio to meet Steve Lamacq. Today, James is on the round table to discuss a few limp new singles and he accommodates my presence immaculately. He’s incredibly welcoming and open about the band and we seem to have clicked over a mutual adoration for the bands of Laurel Canyon.
Post-Lamacq and we’re in the pub again, and there doesn't seem any rush to get back to the Scala. James is articulate and welcoming, with a marked lack of ego. He's also refreshingly honest when I ask whether the band were happy with the response to the first album: “No, not really,” he says. “We just got written off as another folk band and now we want to try to prove that we’re not part of that scene and we’re a lot more versatile. It’s easy to say that the harmonies are folky but pop music is covered in harmonies.” And he’s right. Unfortunately, music criticism is filled with sloppiness and, as James confirms, there have been cases when album reviews have reflected their press release, nearly word for word.
In early March ‘Harvest in the Snow’, a new modestly veracious Goldheart ditty, appeared online. It sounds somehow hearty and prosperous, and I wonder if this what are we should expect from the new album. “I want to show the diversity of the song writing and influence,” James replies. “It's going to be an interesting album and the biggest challenge we have is bringing it all together so it works as a piece of flowing art.”
Back to the Scala, and with the venue now full, James, John and the band rattle on stage, disclosing the heart of some truly refined and heavenly tales. Executed with sublime clarity, the rising and descending of songs like ‘King of Rome’ and ‘So Long St Christopher’ already make clear this versatility that James has been talking about. Some of Kyle Hall's celestial guitar pieces even sound like out-takes from ‘Tonight’s the Night’.
After the gig, the band start hitting the whiskey backstage. Crammed into the cupboard / dressing-room, drinks are passed around and all the unsettled scorn is no more. “The next record is going to be the big introduction to Goldheart Assembly,” declares James. “We thought we had to get a label on board and a booking agent before we could move forward. But it's not true; you can do it all yourself.” And it looks like that's what they’ve been doing all along.
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