Caitlin Lavagna - Gold (Review)

Music Review by Rhys Bradley

Arist: Caitlin Lavagna

Title: Gold

With an average of 120,000 new songs being added to music streaming platorms each day, standing out from the crowd has become the elusive holy grail for aspiring bands and arists.

With new single ‘Gold’, Caitlin Lavagna grabs pop immortality on a cut of biblical proportions. If slightly bonkers futuristic cabaret is your thing, you’ve come to the right place.

‘Gold’ wastes no time in getting down to business and subsequently crams more ideas and hooks into this three-and-a-half minute pop odyssey than anything we’ve heard in a long time. Straddling genres including funk, jazz, rock and trip-hop, it’s a sound that’s hard to describe, but a Shirley Bassey-fronted Jamiroquai covering Billie Eilish is a good approximation.

There’s a swagger and playfulness to Caitlin’s delivery that’s perfectly in sync with the music, a revolving door of catchy riffs and rhythmic gymnastics. The productoon is quirky, inventive and completely uncompromising in sculpting a track that sounds like something from the 70s. And we’re not talking about the 1970s… ‘Gold’ sounds like something ahead of its time.

In an era when so much is disposable, it’s refreshing to hear a record so unique and essential.

‘I have a list of vices that I’d recommend’ Caitlin tells us and it’s highly likely that ‘Gold’ will be one of yours by the time it’s finished. And just when you think the track can’t get any better, it only goes and namechecks Sean Bean – absolute gold.

‘Gold’ is out on 11.04.24.

Rhys Bradley is one half of Cardiff synth-kings The Vanities.