Easily one of the year’s most soaring, melodic tracks so far, “River of Gold” is a catchy success from Australian act The Jensens. “River of Gold” embodies the band’s continuing evolution in sound, traversing from vintage garage-pop of earlier EPs into an expansive sound that sounds timeless in its rock and pop integrations. Shimmering acoustics and punchy percussion forms a reliable backbone, as strings show both heart-tugging and fluidly pop-centric forms. I’m reminded of beautiful Scandinavian pop, aesthetically. The group notes Ziggy-era David Bowie, Arcade Fire, and MGMT as influences, noting that the track is “about making someone you love see the best in themselves, when they can only see the worst.” It’s quite difficult to not be pushed toward the replay button after hearing “River of Gold.”
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“River of Gold” and other memorable tracks from this month can also be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Best of March 2020’ Spotify playlist.
The track is also featured in the genre-based, best-of Spotify compilation Emerging Indie Pop.
