University Pulse

Chuck Ragan- “Gold Country”

by Dustin Verburg

“Gold Country” is the new album from Chuck Ragan, former singer/guitarist in the Gainesville, FL based punk band Hot Water Music. Hot Water Music was an extremely powerful force in emo and post-hardcore, adored by both fans and critics. To their credit, HWM gave credibility to the term “emo” when “emo” emerged in the popular lexicon as a dirty word. Hot Water Music was an unusual band, so it might come as no surprise that ‘Gold Country’ is a very unusual record.

Right up front, it is apparent that this is a folk rock album deeply rooted in the underground punk ethos of the mid-to-late 90s. It also keeps its emo (in the true sense of the word) heritage clutched very close to its heart. The strangest fact of all, however, is that ‘Gold Country’ is a concept album about the California Gold Rush. Concept albums and punk rock don’t usually mix well (with the exception of Husker Du’s ‘Zen Arcade) but ‘Gold Country’ strikes it rich like a 1949 San Francisco prospector: through hard work, tenacity and heart.

The record begins with “For Goodness Sake,” which uses steady-chugging drums, modest acoustic guitars, Ragan’s trademark raspy, plaintive vocal delivery and a female backup singer to boost the song into the heavens. As ‘Gold Country’ charges forward with the more propulsive “Glory,” a melancholy violin is added, painting the picture of a rickety mine cart on a rusty track shuddering in the kerosene lantern light.

‘Gold Country’ maintains a haggard, high-energy feeling with songs like “The Trench,” and “Good Enough for Rock and Roll.” Only when the album slows down completely does its omnipresent sorrow consume the music entirely, and the dusty ballads “Don’t Say a Word” and “Get Em All Home” are perfect examples. As with Hot Water Music’s best work, there is hope in the sadness and desperation, even if Ragan loses sight of that in some of these songs: that’s why it feels like a journey, as all good concept albums do. Another trait it shares with successful concept albums is that it wavers from the concept from time to time when it suits the individual song: the concept doesn’t hinder the music or ideas.

‘Gold Country’ is a substantial departure from the dark basement alienation of Hot Water Music. Ragan has always been gifted at channeling real emotion into music, and this time he lends his talent to our gold-mining ancestors instead of our PBR-drinking peers. This is a raw album that’s just as rooted in Ragan’s punk rock past as it is in his folk rock present. At the end of the album, the listener might imagine himself in the same ramshackle tavern as a grizzled old 49er, discussing mutual hopes and sorrows. That is perhaps Ragan’s greatest singular strength: through honesty and melody, he recreates the human experience with emotions that transcend the barrier of centuries.