You won’t find the Golden Bears’ incredible first album on
CD. “Vinyl is about all we listen to,” says guitarist Seth Lorinczi.
“Also, we wanted to highlight Julianna’s art.” Wall to Wall,
just released through Viva Voce’s Amore!Phonics label, comes on thick,
sumptuous vinyl with drummer/vocalist Julianna Bright’s beautiful cover
illustrations in full splendor.
Bright, a visual artist, and Lorinczi, a writer and cook, recorded
the album in their Portland home while expecting their first child. The
duo, who met as members of a mutual friend’s band, have constructed
something remarkable with Wall to Wall. It’s a progressive and
varied work, with moments of abstract impressionism, medieval folk
balladry, circular metal riffs, free jazz saxophones, and airy angelic
hymns. Lyrically and musically, it depicts a world where fanciful
dreams and real-life domesticity intertwine and inform each other.
Bright says, “The record marked a really important time for us, where
both of us could see the long arc of our creative lives and our life as
a family.”
Since the album’s completion, the Bears have played a handful of
gripping shows. “Our aspirations right now are to play in town every
month or two,” says Lorinczi. The new parents haven’t kept idle,
though; Lorinczi is a member of Viva Voce’s new country-rock side
project, Blue Giant, and the Bears have already recorded a new EP.
“The Four Lullabies project came about for a limited-release
art zine called Hot and Cold,” explains Lorinczi. “Being
parents, we recognize a shortage of good kids’ music. Quite possibly,
they’ll be the focus of our next album.”
“Yes, a full album of lullabies that comes with a hardcover book of
illustrations!” suggests Bright. “It’s a lot harder to rehearse now.
Lullabies was an outpouring of that reality. Playing loud music
at all hours… this doesn’t happen anymore. But we can play these
songs with our daughter. I definitely feel compelled to make art and
music explicitly to enchant our kid, so it’s good the quieter medium
feels satisfying for now—though it will always feel so great to
play loud!”