Growing Pains – Byorn Gold (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

Byorn Gold doesn’t release mere EPs or albums; he creates song cycles that are both very personal to him and wonderfully relatable to the listener. In his play, As You Like It, William Shakespeare introduced the concept of the Seven Ages of Man. Across three EPs, of which this is the second, Gold follows the three eras of childhood, each containing songs that discuss and celebrate the steps we take, or more importantly, that he has guided his own children through, from birth to the point when they are ready to head out into the world as independent people.

Growing Pains picks up the story, which started with the formative experiences of Fresh Outlooks, and we find ourselves now in those difficult years that bridge young childhood and adulthood. “Ever Since” opens up discussing this complex duality, when children are independent in thought and deed but still too young to know anything about how the world actually works.

Over a neat blend of soulful pop and understated rock blends, the song discusses change. I read the line “He’s been looking for her ever since” with interest. Are we talking about a daughter physically gone missing, or does it refer to that change in personality that happens when children become teenagers? And that is what is always so great about Byorn’s songs; you can read into them your own personal life experiences rather than just those of someone else.

“Love Overload” is a sultry, funky song that looks back to 70’s soul yet is embued with the poise and polish of the modern age. The song ebbs and flows on some beautiful, complex, fretless bass lines and reflects on the idea that love during these transitional years can often be a one-way street. No matter how much you love your children, for a while at least, you will be seen as everything that they oppose. But remember, we have all been there; we were all rebels (in our own minds, at least) once.

“I Must Have Been There” is gently nostalgic, reminiscing on the fact that given the amount photographs taken, diary entries written, and letters sent, means that as a father, Byorn was very much in the lives of his children, even if they protest that not to have been the case. This declaration of love runs on a wave of ambient pop and comes from the place of the person, agonizing that they were never in the photograph because they were always the ones taking the picture.

The EP ends with “Sad Dad,” Byorn feeling like the bad guy, at least being seen that way in the eyes of his children, and argues, like all parents, that he might not have always got things right, but it was not for the lack of trying, not because he ever tried to do anything other than the right thing. Ironically, such a melancholic sentiment runs along to the jauntiest tune found here, representing, perhaps, the duality and mixed emotions that come with parenting.

Another four great songs and another step nearer adulthood. These are songs that will not only appeal to discerning music fans, especially ones who appreciate the subtle blends and deft genre-hopping that goes on in Byorn Gold’s music, but which any parent will relate to so closely that they will feel as if the songs were written with them in mind.