Jacob Golden

Born in California in the early '70s and raised on pop radio and later hip-hop, Jacob Golden developed his appreciation for music through a variety of sources that culminated first with Jeff Buckley and then, through Buckley's version of "Lilac Wine," Nina Simone. "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.