Mood Elevator. The Gold Needles

My final album review of 2025 goes to The Gold Needles. In the short version of a review I could point to the golden melodies The Gold Needles have recorded. There's no denying that the band went in search of the perfect pop song and found the source where they flow from.

After two singles, The Gold Needles finds an album on this blog for the first time. Despite having released three albums before Mood Elevator, the band never made it to my ears. So let's introduce the band first. The members are Simon Dowson (Lead & Harmony Vocals, Guitar), Dave Burbage (Lead & Rhythm Guitars), Mark English (Keyboards, Bass Guitar (Track 10), Backing Vocals), Carl Slaughter (Bass Guitar, Harmony Vocals) and Will Jones (Drums). Dowson, Burbage and English are responsible for these golden melodies. The band formed in 2015 and is from Kingston upon Hull in the U.K.

Press photo

For the true fans of this blog it is best to compare this band to Dutch band The Maureens. Both share that element of pop, harmony vocals with a bite here and there when it's functional. My next one is The Moody Blues. That may have to do more with the voice of Simon Dowson than the music. The combination makes me regularly opt for the latter though. All through the album you will hear other snippets of melodies that will sound familiar to you. It makes for recognisable listening. That would not be enough as The Gold Needles puts in a lot of itself, making the album get better. Besides that, it rocks out regularly. Showing far more preferences than just pop tunes.

Like many bands reviewed on this blog, The Gold Needles consists of men of a certain age that (re)formed a band and pursue the dream of making music (once again). None will make the jackpot but hopefully they do not have to any more. Pleasing as many people as they can and especially those who are willing to listen to new music that has one foot firmly in the past, is a great goal. The Gold Needles has reached that goal with ease. Mood Elevator makes more than good on its promise. Pure pop oozes out of every bit of my digital version of the album.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Mood Elevator here:

https://bigstirrecords.bandcamp.com/album/mood-elevator