Above the Golden State
Encyclopedia
Above the Golden State is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Christian rock
Christian rock
Christian rock is a form of rock music played by individuals and bands whose members are Christians and who often focus the lyrics on matters concerned with the Christian faith. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies between bands...

 band from Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

. Their self-titled debut album, Above the Golden State, was released on July 22, 2008 through Sparrow Records
Sparrow Records
-Background:Sparrow Records was founded in 1976 by Billy Ray Hearn, then A&R director at Myrrh Records. Purchased by EMI in 1992, it is now part of the EMI Christian Music Group, and has been named by Billboard Magazine as "America's Best Christian Music Record Label"...

. The band's first single from the album was "Sound of Your Name", which was included in WOW Hits 2009
WOW Hits 2009
WOW Hits 2009 is a two-disc compilation album composed of some of the biggest hits on Christian radio during the previous year. Disc one features more of the adult contemporary hits, while disc two features the CHR–pop and rock hits....

 as a bonus track. An EP called "The Golden Rule" will be released in 2010, and the lead single for the album, "I Am Loved", has already been released.

Musical style

Above the Golden State is self-described music as "west coast rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

, pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 ." Lead singer Michael Watson said "we're doing our best not to call it surf-rock—basically, it's that with a touch of the rainy northwest
Northwestern United States
The Northwestern United States comprise the northwestern states up to the western Great Plains regions of the United States, and consistently include the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, to which part of southeast Alaska is also sometimes included...

." The band has said that they are fans of all musical styles, and have been influenced by Weezer
Weezer
Weezer is an American alternative rock band. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson , Brian Bell , and Scott Shriner . The band has changed lineups three times since its formation in 1992...

, Five Iron Frenzy
Five Iron Frenzy
Five Iron Frenzy is a Christian ska band formed in Denver, Colorado in 1995 and disbanded in 2003. The band announced they were recording new material on November 22, 2011....

 and Delirious?
Delirious?
Delirious? were an English Christian rock and worship band. For the majority of their career, the lineup featured Martin Smith on vocals and guitar, Stu G on guitar and backing vocals, Jon Thatcher on bass guitar, Tim Jupp on keys and piano, and Stew Smith on drums and percussion...

, as well as The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

 and Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...

.

Studio Albums

Year Album details Peak positions
US
Christ
US
Heat
Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical...

2008 Above the Golden State
Above the Golden State (album)
Above the Golden State is American Christian Rock band Above the Golden State's debut album. Sound Of Your Name was the first single from the album, and I'll Love You So was the second. They also made a video for the song 'Above The Golden State'...

  • Released: July 22, 2008
  • Label: Sparrow
    Sparrow
    The sparrows are a family of small passerine birds, Passeridae. They are also known as true sparrows, or Old World sparrows, names also used for a genus of the family, Passer...

28 40

Singles

Year Single Peak Album
US
Christ
Hot Christian Songs
Christian Songs is a Billboard chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States....

2008 "Sound of Your Name" 11 Above the Golden State
2009 "I'll Love You So" 22
2010 "I Am Loved" 29 The Golden Rule

External links

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