Song Review - Fishing For Gold

Fishing For Gold (Live At The Forum)

by HOWQUA (available free to download on Soudcloud - go NOW!)

Album: HOWQUA (to be released 2014)

I’ve mentioned it before; I've been writing for this blog for a few years and I've discovered in that time that writing about music has challenged and inspired my love of music and forced me to put into words things taken for granted that just happen, the things I feel when certain sounds and notes meld and warp and gather together in beautiful and sometimes confronting ways. I write for many reasons, but sometimes, like now, I write because I have to, because if one other person reads this and hears what I hear then passes the feeling on to someone else, the effort of blogging is all worthwhile.  

Wasting precious time, well I’ve tried to chase my tail

Fearing failure, all in all, failing to prevail

The first lyrics I’ve ever heard of Melbourne artist HOWQUA and I’m convinced, immediately drawn into a story I wasn’t prepared for and a song that I know years from now will still define a certain point in time for me. While the original version was released a little while ago, it's full layered sounds intense and much more pop oriented, the honesty conveyed in this version; his simple foot taps, his exceedingly solid and oh so sincere vocal, recorded in a completely empty Forum theatre, have become instantly addictive, one guitar and one keyboard all that is needed to make a tremendously moving piece of music. After all, we all know someone or something that has made us feel less than we deserve and then there are those of us who are lucky enough to have found a song like this one, whose sounds make us feel much more than less could ever be. The simplicity in everything about this version of 'Fishing For Gold' is more than enough...

I won’t be your victim anymore

And you can’t break my spirit like before

I can’t always find the words that describe how powerful music is, but hearing artists like HOWQUA with the ability to be so honest and raw makes all the struggle of words and the time of blogging worthwhile. So looking forward to struggling with my words again later in the year when he releases his debut album (made with the help of one of our other faves Hayden Calnin). If this track is any indicator, it will be nothing short of amazing.

Jo Michelmore gives ‘Fishing For Gold (Live At The Forum)’ five Eddie Vedder heads out of five…