Is Gold Rush Kid really just George Ezra’s third album yet? I could hardly imagine that, as the Hertfortshire artist feels to be such an established force in the international music business. The album’s release date is the 10th June 2022, I have been lucky to have a listen before review.
George Ezra – About The Artist
George Ezra Barnett was born on 7th June 1993 in Hertford North of London in England. He turned into a professional musician in 2013. While his debut single and EP Did You Hear The Rain? just had some limited success, Budapest was the global breakthrough. The single got platinum status in several markets and went Top 3 (at least) in the United Kingdom, Austria, Germany and New Zealand. This also boosted the success of his 2014 released album Wanted on Voyage, which was a five time platinum one in the U.K.. Four years later, he released his sophomore album, Staying at Tamara’s, which again lead his home country charts and made it into several international Top 10 rankings. The key factor behind that was the second global single success, Shotgun – which was in fact the third single release of the album. The song was a twelve time platinum record in Austria.
George Ezra – Gold Rush Kid – Track by Track
The twelve song album lasts 38 minutes.
1. Anyone For You (Tiger Lily)
The opening song feels like a typical George Ezra one. A certain ease and lightness, a happy pop rhythm with a slight folk-alike texture. The song worked fine as a single release – and it is a good first step towards the world of the Gold Rush Kid.
2. Green Green Grass
This second song has a much stronger focus on the rhythm. Again, Ezra is presenting a positive vibe, so that the song has a bit of a springtime-party track. The track feels a bit too simple here and there to me.
3. Gold Rush Kid
The first song of the album which has not been featured yet is the title track. The song comes with a rich arrangement, it is good to sing along – but it does not catch me as much as previous song releases by the artist.
4. Manila
Manila is a track with a strong vibe. There is quite an undeniable R&B touch in this song, the guitar parts feel to unnecessarily distract from it. I don’t get the concept of that song, unfortunately – even though I have to say it catches me if I don’t try to digest it too deeply.
No flights to Manila
Love that Cinderella
Won’t you me a little? Love me a little?
5. Fell In Love At The End of The World
While most songs of the album have been co-written with Joel Laslett Pott, the fifth song states George Ezra only in the credits. The song is one of my favorites of the album, as it comes with a clearer structure, a clear message. Again, it is driven by this signature groove of George Ezra songs, like it!
6. Don’t Give Up
Don’t Give Up is a slower track with a monotonous backing rhythm. Towards the end, it is using choir elements and even a sound similar to a siren. I am looking for the catch for three minutes… Until there is the next one.
7. Dance All Over Me
This song has a lot of energy, on the other hand, it is driven by the very pop-ish rhythm and melodic elements. I love the energetic and powerful parts, while again the overall arrangement rather distract me. Ezra comes with certain so unique qualities – why do his melodies move my attention away from these in 2022?
8. I Went Hunting
The opposite concept compared to Dance All Over Me is I Went Hunting. The song does use synth sounds as well, but they support the lovely and amazing voice of Ezra and strengthen the atmosphere given by the singer and his lyrics. Even though I would not put this song on the top of my favorites, I highly appreciate how it is set up.
9. In The Morning
In the morning just needs an acoustic guitar on the instrumental side for major parts. Ezra’s voice is constantly changing between his typical range and very high falsetto notes. Sometimes, this feels a bit too much to me. Towards the end of In The Morning a wider vocal arrangement almost leads to a gospel touch.
10. Sweetest Human Being Alive
Another song, which feels to be a bit of “back to the roots”. Ezra is presenting a beautiful piano ballad – Sweetest Human Being Alive is definitely one of the emotional highlights of Gold Rush Kid.
11. Love Somebody Else
The second last song spreads a bit of a majestic feeling. The strings in the background give a nice backing to the track. Good one.
12. The Sun Went Down
The Sun Went Down might feel a bit of simple, but the closer comes with some “hidden gem” qualities. I’m so happy I could die now is a very intimate message at the end of the album – even if I personally would not die for these twelve tracks.
George Ezra – Gold Rush Kid – Spotify
Here is the album on Spotify:
George Ezra – Gold Rush Kid – My View
I love what George Ezra is doing – and Gold Rush Kid shows in some songs what an amazing talent the Englishman is. Unfortunately, this is not the whole story of the album – there are too many distracting and rather weak sides of the album, which is finally not more than an upper average-class production to me.
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