Thursday 8 January 2009

Would-be-Goods - Eventyr (Matinee Records)

Would-be-Goods skirt around and underneath the scene like some kind of elegant swan. Or at least a very clean Canadian goose.

'Eventyr' is their fifth album, and it's delightfully understated. And there are holes in these songs. Holes for them to breathe. Where before maybe the band have gone full-throttle down pop avenue, with 'Eventyr' there's time to really explore Would-be-Goods.

The album starts with the typical pop rattle of stuff like Sad Stories and The Girl at Number 7 - but in between there are songs like In Bohemia (in which, okay, Jessica Griffin sounds like she's singing "Oh, bulimia!"), and the stunning, fragile Venusberg which is by far the strongest track here.

Elsewhere, Melusine sounds a little like early Morrissey, and whilst Pleasure Island isn't about the theme park in Cleethorpes, it's very nearly as much fun, whilst Temporary Best Friend is sophisticated pop fun at its very best.

What makes this an album you'd like to sleep with on the first date is that there's nothing else around like Would-be-Goods. They aren't Swedish. They don't want to sound like a Jesus and Mary Chain b-side. They don't have beards. They're unique, and they're yours and they're mine.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I like that they are not teenagers and that they have incredible grace and elegance in the sounds they create. I want to mature just like Jessica.