Artist: Golden Apes
Title: The Sun Came Up Tremendously
Genre: Goth Rock / Alt Rock
Release Date: 18th September 2026
Label: Icy Cold Records
Album Review
I have never heard of this band! ”What?” I hear you exclaim. No, never heard of them. And then I was asked to review their up-and-coming new album which by the way is the 2nd instalment in a trilogy. When I found out it was a trilogy, I thought to myself “Oh you’d better listen to the first one, ‘Our Ashes At The End Of The Day’ then to get a feel for the music?” But as quickly I decided not to listen but delve straight in with ‘The Sun Came Up Tremendously’, this will be my first experience of GOLDEN APES. Since forming in 1998 in Berlin the Nietzsche inspired band has released eleven albums and numerous singles and they have shared stages with a wide variety of other artists that include AND ALSO THE TREES, THE CHAMELEONS, CLAN OF XYMOX and PINK TURNS BLUE.
The new album is Inspired by Dante Alighieri's ‘Divine Comedy’ and on first listen it feels smooth and flowing. The first track ‘Farewell’ has an eerie minimal 80 synth bubbly accents, snappy drums along with a SOLSTAFIR vibe in the guitars but I can’t smell Icelandic flora. Both the bass and Peer Lebrecht’s vocal are throaty and glottal. ‘The Light Inside’ has a clicky start morphing to a snappy punch, the searing guitars shimmer in aural shards of light that stab down into crevices of darkness. It reminds me of IF THESE TREES COULD TALK.
‘Milk And Poison’ starts slow. Its considered path through the track broken by stepping stones of urgency. I like the wide gargle of the easy bass line paired with snappy syncopated drums. The buttery keyboards swoosh and spread around it. This track conjures images of a dry bareness, dusty and brittle with subtle signs of stubborn life hanging on. I’m liking the vocal, is it chorused or doubled tracked? I don’t know, but it’s nice.
Dutter-dutter-dutter-dutter go the drums on ‘Resistance’, the globular bass vibrating and wobbling in the background like Tony Pettit playing in liquid. This track canters and gallops along, stutter and flowing as it goes. ‘Helion’ lumbers to start with, I feel indifferent to the pace set by the drums that double snap at the end of the slow phrase. The pace does pick up at the 2-minute mark which alerts my attention and the bass goes on a warm run whilst the guitars weave and meander in and around it. There's lowly darkness here with refracted light and flares which gives me the feeling of weird calm before the next track ‘Where The River Ran’ slows things down again to a tired drag.
The pace picks up again and the drums consolidate the pace. I like this, there’s a heaviness and relief here. ‘Evelyn’ is the most up/downbeat track on the album so far. Words like “I’m glad to see you, it’s been a while, you look so pretty” and “I still see you dancing” allude to that fact. But its delivered deadpan and with emotional reserve in the delivery. It’s like someone asking me what I thought of the homemade ice cream and I reply with a flat expression and dead eyes “It was lovely”. There’s also a brief CURE like bass section in it.
Speaking of THE CURE, the next track ‘Radiation’ sounds like ‘A Forest’ for a fleeting moment but then the guitars go off on a jangling wander whilst the drums snap and click, one minute keeping you in a certain space, then changing with subtle shifts in phrase and pace. It’s like you’re riding your brakes. A different percussive sound starts ‘City Walls’. It’s wider and “feathery”. It’s fuller but the overall tone weaves to the point now where I am getting really bored. Ok, earlier I liked what I was hearing but now it’s getting samey although the tremolo picked guitars sections standout. I’ll be honest, I can’t wait for this to end.
‘Dreams’ is the final track, which I am thankful for. Ok, this is better. But it’s a bit early 2000’s Pop Rock. The bass jabs through the mix like an impertinent finger and then a nice jangly bit of airy stringed sway. The vocal though does sound like someone singing after a stroke. I like the eastern vibe at the midpoint which is reminiscent of ‘Kashmir’ but it doesn’t last long before the track goes off again on a gallop. But finally, the track ends with a sustained doom metal guitar paired to staccato drums that drag my head into a sweaty slow head bang. The current 36° temperature does not help.
Ok, I listened to this with an open mind. For most of it I was engaged but moments when my engagement just wandered off. Not wandered because the music created the space for me to do so, no, because I was simply bored. This album is a mixed bag. Theres some great musicianship and some great soundscapes that perk and focus my interest and bits that just don’t inspire, ‘City walls’ being an example.
However, I do have a listen to the previous album in the trilogy ‘Our Ashes At The End Of The Day’ a few hours after this and it was much better and enjoyable listen. My attention was kept for the duration of the experience. Check out the review for this album here.
Tracklist
01. Farewell
02. The Light (Inside Us)
03. Milk And Poison
04. Resistance
05. Helion
06. Where The River Ran
07. Evelyn (One Day)
08. Radiation
09. City Walls
10. Dreams (Gone By)
Line-up
Peer Lebrecht - Word, Vocals, Keyboards
Gerrit Haasler - Guitars
Christian Lebrecht - Bass
Salomon Bosse - Drums and Percussion
Website
www.goldenapes.com / www.facebook.com/GoldenApes
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 7
Sound: 7
Total: 7 / 10
