Goldblade – City Of Christmas Ghosts

• 10th Dec 2008

Being a colourful commentator and a stalwart punk revivalist with his gruelling and expansive outfit Goldblade, helps keep honest John Robb busy and in the public eye.

A western punk sliding single, sees Robb stand up against releases by the likes of Leona Lewis, Take That and Terry Wogan, to proffer grit, honesty and an undercurrent of cynicism this Christmas;

“Plastic snow falling on a neon lit reality, running passed billboards advertising nothing. Raise a toast to the ghosts of the friends we lost last year.”

This re-jigged and re-titled run through of a lyrically snappy and instrumentally bounding offering from Goldblade’s fresh and ranging ‘Mutiny’ album, stands out for the contrast of Robb’s rugged, dingy and hearty vocals against Poly Styrene’s squeaky new wave femme pitch.

‘City Of Christmas Ghosts’, has sincerity, emotion, contrast and an independent spirit. Maybe it is just the wrong time of year for those qualities? Oh, and, it has cynicism too, something that your writer appreciates anyway.