Gold Cash Gold's new album, Paradise Pawned Vol. 1, on Times Beach Records could easily be described in the same way one would describe a pawn shop and being named after a pawn shop, the comparisons could be no more appropriate. I'm not sure what kind of pawn shop Gold Cash Gold is, but from my own experience I've found pawn shops to have some good stuff, more bad stuff, and lots of old stuff.

Musically, GCG sticks to what some consider rock in its purist form — heavy on the blues influence with plenty of guitar riffs. While the band does hit a sound reminiscent of butt-rock on "Same Old Blues" and "Vultures", they tend to stick to a format slower and more subdued. GCG is undoubtedly capable of skillfully playing in this style, but I can't shake the feeling that vocalist Eric Hoegemeyer is better suited for the more aggressive tracks. On the previously mentioned songs, Hoegemeyer's voice projects the type of swagger needed to pull off the songs, but on the slower tracks, like "Hard Times", "Damaged", and "I Know", it just doesn't work.