Review Summary: A strong contender for the best country album of 2023
Golden State is a lush and dreamy escape into some of the most effortlessly captivating country/folk music that I've heard in recent years. At its heart is Logan Ledger, a man whose voice is booming when he wants it to be, yet he seemingly knows his own strength and willingly reins it in with silky smooth melodies and gorgeous tremolo. His incredible vocal performance is what irrefutably drives
Golden State, but it wouldn't be what it is without the flawless production, beautiful string arrangements, soulful guitars, and breathtaking guest vocals ('Some Misty Morning', courtesy of Erin Rae) that envelop his voice and surround it with everything from classical elegance to rural twang. As a completed product,
Golden State is one of the most impressive and downright
prettiest things you'll hear all year.
The album immediately immerses us in its rich, verdant atmosphere with the brilliant title track. The song commences with fluttering strings that melt away into gorgeous acoustics, where Ledger joins in to sing of a "golden state" – this place, or perhaps just a memory or mindset – that he finds elusive because "every mile feels longer than the last / like slowly gettin' dragged back by the past." Once that spell is cast and we're ready to follow Ledger wherever his quivering, masterful voice might take us, 'There Goes My Mind' adds another barb in the hook we've already willingly bitten into (with line and sinker). The song trades in swelling strings for a drum presence, and
Golden State offers up something a little more down-to-Earth and traditionally
country. Despite there being more figurative boots-in-the-dirt, the midtempo country-rock tune – replete with winding guitars and an effortlessly memorable refrain – still blends right into its dreamier surroundings, showing us that while Ledger isn't afraid to vary the hues on his palette,
Golden State will always retain its blissfully mesmerizing aura.
Just as the album makes a very strong first impression, it also does nothing to lose its luster across its ten tracks and forty-one minutes. It certainly seems that Ledger whittled this thing down to only
the best, and
Golden State is obviously better for it. Still, there are moments that stand above the rest; the "ready-made country classic" feel of 'All The Wine In California', the breezy intertwined vocals of 'Some Misty Morning', and the way Ledger belts out the final notes with striking power and control on 'I'm Not Here' all deserve special notation. However,
Golden State saves its best for last with the goosebump-inducing beauty of closer 'Where Will I Go', which feels like the kind of timeless gem you'd only hear on classic country radio – this forlorn, emotionally profound track that gets by entirely on the simplest of notions: "Time ain't my friend...where will I go?" Sometimes, the most important thoughts aren't comprised of philosophical theories or ornate poetry, but rather the questions right in front of us every day as we gaze into an uncertain future from a helpless and vulnerably human present.
What elevates a piece of music from momentarily alluring is to
timeless is, for the most part, usually just a waiting game. The albums we leave on for long enough – those records that keep on spinning because we just can't seem to help it – ultimately become "classics" in our hearts because they carve out a crucial space that is more valuable than just about anything: our time. The jury is still out on
Golden State in that sense – as it should be – but there
is something downright magical happening here that I can't quite explain. While my best attempt at boxing in
Golden State might sound something like "Orville Peck performing to the backdrop of Honey Harper's
Starmaker", the real answer here is that I just can't step away from what Logan Ledger has concocted here. It's become my own personal little "golden state" of retreat. I don't know if it will last a month, a year, or a lifetime...but in this moment, nothing sounds better. And that's more than worthy of my time.
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