Though their recorded output is still pretty limited, Brooklyn's Golden Triangle have been kicking around for a while now. I first saw the group in summer 2008 as the opening act on a night Deerhunter debuted a lot of Microcastle material. That performance-- and Golden Triangle's chaotic stage presence-- stuck with me for some reason. I mentally tagged them as "psychotic B-52's" and followed along as they played a ton of other shows, many in Brooklyn warehouses, and put out a self-titled EP on Mexican Summer last year.
Double Jointer is the band's first full-length, and it falls in line with the throwback garage-rock of Black Lips and King Khan, as well as the murkier scuzz-pop of Vivian Girls. The B-52's description wasn't totally accurate, but they build a ragged shimmy around co-vocalists Vashti Windish and Carly Rabalais similarly to how the Georgia group highlight Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson. Mostly though, Golden Triangle remind me of the rockabilly side of punk. While you could very easily lump them in with the current shitgaze sound, there's an added tinge of madness that brings to mind bands like Gun Club and the Cramps.
That's a bunch of comparisons to say that most of what you'll encounter on Double Jointer you've already heard in some form or another. Golden Triangle are kind of an amalgamation of many strains of rock from the past 30 years-- garage, rockabilly, punk-- but presented in a more spastic, dancier style. This could be a sticking point for some if the songs didn't work, but they're successful for the most part. The band is a six-piece, and behind singers Windish and Rabalais are four talented players, specifically guitarist OJ San Felipe, who develops oddly catchy hooks with fuzzy, asymmetrical guitar lines. Such is the case on tighter rockabilly tracks like "I Want to Know" and "Death to Fame", but the band often sounds best at their loosest. "Jellyroll" and "Jinx" have a nice herky-jerky quality to them-- almost a muddier form of doo-wop.
"The Melting Wall", which comes late in the record, is arguably the best song here, and it's when Golden Triangle feel most at ease. On this one, they allow for lots of space, let the guitars rumble and growl, and have Windish and Rabalais trade vocals overtop the smoldering arrangement. And it's here that the band sounds most like they did that night in Brooklyn back in 2008. There's a spark and energy to the song that's missing from some of the others on the album, and it makes me think that, for now at least, Golden Triangle's music is still best absorbed in the live setting. These fuzzy, frenetic songs are ones you want to hear in a crowded club, bouncing along as you spill half your drink on the guy next to you. While most of Double Jointer's tracks are at least good, the band doesn't tap into that spirit often enough, and ultimately it leaves the album feeling a bit flat.
