Escape With Golden Vessel's 'Road Trip Album'
Music

Escape With Golden Vessel's 'Road Trip Album'

Golden Vessel (real name: Maxwell Byrne) describes his new project, colt, as a "road trip album." And that checks out. With the type of airy guitars and wistful melodies that could soundtrack passing landscapes seen through any car window, the Australian musician captures a dreamy experience that now feels unfamiliar in the COVID era.

"I started making it before I had a couple of big driving tours in America and those songs were sort of in anticipation of all the time I'd be spending there," he continues, detailing his follow-up to 2019's SLOWSHINE. "I kept working on it while we were traveling and seeing the landscapes for myself really inspired me."

On album highlight and lead single "midwest," Golden Vessel captures this perspective, which now feels even more relatable as the world goes deeper into lockdown. "I want to rent a car/ And drive across the midwest," he sings on the chorus before concluding: "I just want to pass this town."

While traveling across the country, Golden documented the experience through his camera." I enjoy taking photos and a big part of these trips was trying to capture what I was looking at in my spare time," he says. "I actually set off on a three-month road trip at the start of the year just to take photos, but it got cut short because of COVID."

Amarillo, Texas

For PAPER, Golden Vessel has shared a small selection, from stops in Texas to Arizona and Nevada — a snapshot of pre-pandemic America. "Here are some of the photos I did manage to take and that sort of accompany the album I've put together," he says.

Stream colt by Golden Vessel, below.

Photos courtesy of Golden Vessel