 Clayton Bolger of Allmusic stated in his review of Dream Days at the Hotel Existence that Powderfinger " largely revisit the sound of their Internationalist album , leaving behind much of the glam and swagger of 2003 's Vulture Street " . He commented on Fanning 's " commanding and distinctive vocals " , the " twin @-@ guitar attack " of Middleton and Haug , Collins ' " innovative basslines " , and the " powerhouse drum work " of Coghill . Nimmervoll described Golden Rule as " Powderfinger back to its essence . They ’ d experimented with the sound , tried different things with the songwriting process and recorded in America with different producers . [ It ] was recorded at home , the band reunited with American Nick DiDia , who had previously worked with the band during the “ classic ” era , producing Internationalist , Odyssey Number 5 and Vulture Street . They also wrote the songs as a team , with Bernard responsible for the bulk of the lyrics . The album was recorded in the same spirit , as close to the live sound as a studio album could be " . 
