You can’t go far wrong with a bit of Euro synth pop and Italy’s Golden Rain - Zaira Zigante and Mario Grimaldi - don’t disappoint with their self-titled EP providing five examples of sequenced irony that exude both style and substance.
Five songs may not be much in terms of musical output but the stamp of quality is nonetheless clear to hear with a song like “When I Go Away” having the necessary hypnotic qualities that would fill any post-modern dancefloor to capacity. That’s not to say that all the songs here are merely fodder for fancy footwork for there are also some decidedly bleak nods in the direction of the arthouse – Foglights, in particular – that roll as if Zaionair had decided, on a whim, to become a hybrid of Elisa Waut and Kate Bush. “The Same Moon” is also more than it seems on initial acquaintance with its straight to VHS sci-fi soundtrack cues morphing nicely in to something both wistful and endearingly vulnerable.
Five songs aren’t much but the five songs on Golden Rain’s EP are enough to leave you wanting more and few bands, regardless of genre, can do that nowadays.