"Nina is the master of expressing a sad song," says Golden, explaining that for him it's about "capturing the most emotional and real and genuine thing. Not about technically, was that a good vocal?" David Kosten (Faultline), the producer on Golden's debut EP, Jacob Golden, influenced his search for the essence of the emotion, rather than a pristine sound. But Golden's soaring falsetto is anything but sloppy or unpolished. It conveys layer upon layer of pure feeling and doesn't gloss over the ones that are complex or uncomfortable. Golden's sound, which can in one moment be lush and serene and in another severe and caterwauling, incorporates aspects of influences that range from Talk Talk to Metallica to Grandmaster Flash to Jeff Buckley. ~ Travis Drageset