| The Golden Age | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by American Music Club | ||||
| Released | 2008-2-19 | |||
| Label | Merge Records | |||
| Producer | Dave Trumfio | |||
| American Music Club chronology | ||||
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The Golden Age is the 9th studio album[1] released by San Francisco-based sadcore and slowcore band American Music Club. The album is the band's second after a 10 year hiatus that ended in 2004.[2] The album is an effort by the band to experiment more in their music.[3] The album was produced by Dave Trumfio, who has also worked for bands such as Wilco and My Morning Jacket.[4]
Contents |
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [5] |
| Pitchfork Media | (7.7/10)[6] |
The album was released to generally positive critical reviews, earning 4 out of 5 stars from MusicOMH[4] and an 80 (out of 100) score on Metacritic.[7]
The album was recorded over two months at Kingsize Studios in Los Angeles with Dave Trumfio, who also recorded Wilco's Summerteeth album. Frontman Mark Eitzel began writing the songs that appear on the Golden Age in 2005, though recording didn't begin until 2007.[8]
The album's high critical acclaim was not reflected in its sales figures.[9] The album is currently 51,664th in music purchases and downloads on Amazon.com,[3] indicating that the band remains relatively unpopular among mainstream fans, regardless of its praise from critics.
The music on The Golden Age is much more experimental than previous American Music Club releases, tending to be more "melodic and atmospheric".[3] Much of the music is happier and more melodic than other AMC albums, indicating that the band may be going in a new direction.