Music Review: The Goons -- New Self Titled Album

The Goons are a new and popular local indie rock duo from Northern Virginia. Their combination of old-fashioned 50s/60s rock sound with new alternative elements make their sound much different than things you will hear on the radio nowadays. The duo consists of singer/guitarist David Gray and drummer Ryan Cunningham. Their newest album, The Goons, has distinct qualities that make it quite far above the norm nowadays, putting it in a category of its own.

The album begins with "The Interrogation," a song that sounds a bit like Sublime with a twist. The song is very pop oriented, but the singer is a bit harsher on this song than later tracks on the album. "Let Go," the second track on the album, gives a much softer tone than the latter, but the song is not quite as catchy as others on the album.



The third track, "Hotel," is by far the most impressive song on the album and has garnered many's interest in the duo. The song sounds like a pop-rock hybrid that you would literally hear in Elvis' time. The lyrics are well-written and catchy, and the guitar hook will keep anyone captivated. "Taxi Cab" brings a more modern twist to their style than prior tracks, and fifth track "Weak" caught my eye as somewhat of a power ballad. However, neither could live up to the grandeur that was "Hotel."

Sixth track, "Boomerang Girl," gives a more western sound than most of their other tracks, but unlike some of the prior tracks, it brings back some of the catchiness that made "Hotel" such a hit. This is followed by the soothing ballad, "Tomorrow," which was quite impressive and reminded me of some of Led Zeppelin's softer songs. "One Way or Another has one of the better guitar parts on the entire album, but lacks when compared to some prior songs.

The following tracks, "Blaze," "Fisherman's Cove," and "Running for the Hills" are all pretty good tracks in their own way but also all lack the catchiness "Hotel" had. The final song, "Fight or Flee" is much more aggressive and is truly a perfect way to close the album.

My final grade for The Goons is an 8/10. An 8/10 is a great score for an act that is just getting started, and we should be pretty impressed they ranked higher than Hollywood Undead's new album. There were some blatant strengths presented, such as David Gray's guitar work through the album, but also some weaknesses as well. However, most of the weaknesses were probably due to the fact that they set the bar so high with "Hotel" and could not really live up to its superiority on the rest of the album. However, I do request this album to anyone who wants to listen to something new with no autotune. The talent is certainly there; if you give the album a chance, it certainly does deliver.

Written by R. Turk
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