THE STENCH OF LUXURY – GOLDEN DONNA (2025) – Album Review

Album: ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴛᴇɴᴄʜ ᴏꜰ ʟᴜxᴜʀʏ

Artist: ɢᴏʟᴅᴇɴ ᴅᴏɴɴᴀ

Release Date: December 5, 2025

Full disclosure: Golden Donna lives somewhere along the same stretch of Portland terrain I haunt (or at least he did sometime in the past year) and I love to walk in this green, park-soaked labyrinth of NE Portland neighborhoods where everyone seems to exist in a state of perpetual wonder and joy. I will sporadically see Golden Donna talking to a neighbor. Once, our eyes met across the sidewalk. I gave him a wave. He hesitated just long enough for me to see the wheels turning, trying to place me. That’s the reality of living here: people drift through each other’s timelines like recurring characters in a dream. Now hold that scene in your mind and add one crucial detail: a tuxedo cat named “Mister Socks” perched on his shoulder – perched regally and unbothered. This seems to be Golden Donna’s default form these days. Dark or monochrome sweater or black tee, shallow ball cap, with Mister Socks by his side. If he were drawn often, no doubt this cat would be by his side in every portrait.

Ever since I saw Golden Donna play at Live in the Depths, I’ve been wanting to review some of his work. I’m glad I waited until this gem of an album popped up. Golden Donna’s music unsettles me in ways I don’t have the proper vocabulary for, which is a disastrous turn of events for someone running a website built on the idea of explaining how music makes me and others feel. When the audio production is this good, or I should say when the production is this intentionally robust bordering on abrasive to one’s senses, it can be really daunting tackling the subject matter. Like, Lip Service (Track 1) comes in hot as fuck with the deep bass beats, but then you realize you’re slowly descending into pure noise techno? The album kind of rides that line into the abyss. No looking back.

It shakes something loose in me. Again, maybe I’m projecting but the intentional, commanding, bordering on hostile musical structure burns through me at times. Chaos whispers at the edges, melody flickers like a flame in the wind and they dance together, I am left undone like a hunk of meat under a heat lamp. But what I get from this album is the tremendous amount of depth in the person making this music. My mind settles down a bit when I imagine Golden Donna making this album, head bobbing, shoulders rolling, hips moving in the wee hours of the morning while Mister Socks looks on lovingly, half-lidded, with a slight purr under their breath. It’s an absolute fantastic album that will probably require multiple listens.

Would highly recommend.