Fool's Gold Not Foolish

The hottest trend in indie rock at the moment seems to be the embracing of afro-pop. How this happened is beyond me, but it's so prevalent that it seems like almost every band amongst the collective indie rock scene has just discovered their parents Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel records. As crazy as it sounds, the hipster crowd is leaving behind the dirty folk hippy sound and embracing global culture and sounds. This is a good thing and amongst the biggest admirers of such collections and ideas is Fools Gold.

Sounding more like a Rough Guide to Afro-pop collection run through a Rough Guide to the Middle East, then Vampire Weekend and then Phish, Fool's Gold self titled debut album is an interesting amalgamation of sounds and influences that at times is really really good and at others sounds a bit too jam bandish for its own good. Fool's Goldis filled with horns, soulful vibes, tribal drums, and a soundscape that has more in common with Johannesburg, South Africa than their native Los Angeles. It's a diverse tapestry of pop that's laid back and worldly and when it hits its mark it's just about brilliant.

"Surprise Hotel," "Ha Dvash," and "Momentary Shelter," all show Fool's Gold at their best. These beautiful songs take you (and the band) out of a modern American landscape and transport you to another simpler place where music is of the heart and soul and not a corporate machine. It's touching stuff and you have to commend a bunch of Los Angelinos for embracing such diverse kinds of music and influences.

But for every fantastic moment that Fool's Gold has there's usually an equally shaky moment that seems like Fool's Gold is just trying to hard. "Nadine," and "Poseidon," for example, almost seems like theme park interpretations of what "world music," is really about. They're not horrible but they just seem a little too worldly for their own good and as a result it comes off as fake and cliche. Yet, for the most part, Fool's Goldis a thoroughly mind enriching and opening experience. These guys are so open minded when it comes to what influences them they could teach millions of music fans alot. Like they say, "The World Is All There Is," and so they embrace as much as they can and that folks, is never a bad thing. It's a philosophy that they live by and play music by and it something society could learn from.