Stories From the Western Edge – Byorn Gold (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

Byorn Gold is not a man who does things by halves. Not only did he play 250 live-streaming shows back to back during the 2020 COVID Lockdown to help people through those dark times, but he is also on a musical journey to write 250 songs in five years. Having taken on such a challenge, it is understandable that his sonic output in doing so makes words like ‘prolific’ feel inadequate.

“Stories From the Western Edge,” his latest EP, which will form the middle third of the album Borderlines – his sixth, is also an example of his adventurous and accommodating style. It is able to move across the musical landscape, blending aspects of the more commercial and accessible sounds and styles into its own form of pop music. However, a term such as ‘pop’ and all the clichés and connotations that come with it might not quite conjure the correct image for his music; it is best you just dive right in.

“What Side Are You On” opens the EP. A smooth, bossa nova-infused beat allows the song to gently glide towards the listener, wrapped in seductive sonics built from jazz bar piano, dulcet guitar lines, and some glorious, 60s-style chamber-pop vocals, asking questions and needing answers.

And if that opener hints at hedonistic lifestyles and affairs of the heart, “Let Me Be Absolved” is more contrite in its message. As ambient sonics and classical strings form a cocoon of sound, the message at its heart is one of redemption. The narrative of a man weighed down by the actions and choices of the past; the song is a reflection on time spent on the wrong path, of time spent pursuing selfish things that they thought would make their life better, only to find the burden of those decisions, the weight of those consequences to be too much to bear. Both those songs found inspiration in the 2028 movie “Bad Times at El Royale”, describing Billy and Miller, respectively.

As the Spanish guitar floats into the listener’s consciousness, we are reminded of how deft a songwriter Byorn is, but also of what a fantastic guitarist. “It’s A Complicated World” is built mainly on those understated yet choice guitar lines, with only the wash of strings, fleeting flute, and the occasional piano flourish to add the finishing touches. Through all this beauty and delicacy, he employs musical language to convey the difficulties the character Don Shirley has faced (based on the 2018 movie “The Green Book” , not least those surrounding identity, expectation, and expression.

Those classical guitar flourishes are also evident in the last track of the quartet. But “Last Man Standing” is not the delicate flower that the previous song was. Instead, as Byorn speaks of survival, metaphorical or otherwise, he calls up a spaghetti western-style sonic storm, one that blends resonant ’50s guitar twangs and ornate acoustica, the mournful wail of Mariachi trumpets and shimmering percussion, emotive harmonicas, and his defiant, fist-in-the-air vocals. The song is made as a response to the band CEONEO’s song “The sad sad story of Billy and Dave”

Four songs, but so much ground covered, not only through lyrical themes but the wide sonic range that we travel, from delicate Mediterranean acoustics to apocalyptic Tex-Mex scenarios, from Latin loveliness to poised pop accessibility, and beyond.

Most people would take whole albums to cover the same creative distance that Byorn Gold does in just these four songs. Now, that is what you call rewarding music. And as a reward for your reading so far, the next EP from Byorn Gold will take you on a trip way back to the Middle Ages!