Reviews
Goldfinger
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Add to del.ico.us.Review Date: 2005-03-09
You know its funny in my days of listening to music I’ve never downloaded a track or bought a CD by Goldfinger. The weird thing is I have been very into the types of music they produce at points, and obviously you’ll find them in every CD store in the punk section, which is the area I like to visit when I’m in a CD store. With all that in mind I guess I’m letting it be known I have no opinion of Goldfinger nor do I know what any of their prior music sounded like. I guess this album sounds like a pop-ska album, I say ska instead of punk because it does involve a fair amount of horn section, but also there’s a bit of lighter “punk” within the CD that I can’t really throw into that category. Now as far as the music goes I’m not overly wowed, but it’s the lyrics in some of these songs that have me, from everything that I can tell Goldfinger goes between two different lyrical sets. One that is completely focused on some sort of girl fixation, which is something I’m not a big fan of, I mean stop whining, I can stand one or two songs about your relationship woes, but like 5? C’mon now, if you spent all that time writing the song then instead you could have just pursued her using your time more productively. Now the good part of the lyrics is the political views, they really hate the United States, well that’s maybe me talking for them, they never say that, but they do say that they feel oppressed within the country they live in, which would say to me there’s some general distaste for Bush and the way he’s conducted himself in office. So I guess that’s my initial impression of Goldfinger, lets see if they provide a saga worth rocking to.
“Wasted” which is track two is an ok song. It really just has to do with getting fuck’t up, which I’m sure we can all agree with is something quite amazing. So it’s really just a typical song in terms of the lyrics, but it seems that it’s more a reflection on the getting wasted and how it has affected his life rather than lets all go get wasted again. Hilarious, upon reading up on Goldfinger the lead singer John Feldmann is someone who has written songs for The Used, Story of the Year and **shudder** Good Charlotte…eww, I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit. Oh man, Good Charlotte? Anyone that touches them turns into a sissy with fake tattoos and shitty hair that looks tacky. Oh man, just when I was thinking that I didn’t mind the lyrics, anyways that doesn’t ruin this song for me, I guess I wish it was a bit harder, but that’s only because I’m considering the subject matter. Every song I’ve ever heard that was about getting mangled was always best used in a high-octane environment, for example “Tall Cans in the Air” by The Transplants.
Track six is “Damaged” and it features an almost Arabic background as far as the song goes. Maybe its more the way they use the guitar in the song, or perhaps its not a guitar at all, regardless, its well done, the music on this song carries a heavy heart but as I’ve said some of the songs are like that. There is a point in the song that it leaves this style and diverts to the chorus where I would rather it just stuck with the same sort of Arabic feel. I guess it’s a song about the way you feel once your dumped or once your alone after the dumping, but regardless its not ruining the music for me, in fact the fact that its hard to notice what Feldmann is referring to makes it more listenable to me. The lyrics come full circle, which is a nicely added touch, and I think it’s a pretty good track to place just before the next one, because it’s the one that I like the most, and has the most to say as far as politics go.
Track seven is called “Behind the Mask”. This song is really good to me, and easily my favourite track on the CD. It starts with a female narrator who is talking about watching the “horror” of a slaughterhouse, now I agree its pretty gruesome in the slaughterhouse, but I like eating meat way too much to care. Anyways the point of the song is that it is all anti-corporate and government and how the government is always on the side of corporate based on greed. I think the chorus does bring up an interesting point “All my life I’ve done what I was asked, so who is right? The one behind the mask.” Which is obviously frustrating, but you have to agree it is totally true, the man calls the shots and were helpless to stop it unless we have the green to make it happen. Anyways this song carries a true horns section and those Jamaican metal drums that add that nice little Bob Marley feel to the song. I must say on the whole the song is well put together, it uses more quotes from that female narrator again as the song progresses and ends off everything by coming back to her as they fade out with the steel drums and horns. I like that they are using less of the punk angle in this song because to be honest I think they do the ska better than the hardcore punk, but that’s just me.
Ok I’ve been looking around the Internet and this album is getting horrible press for a punk band that’s existed since 1995. Most of what I read just says they sold out and no longer do what they used to, which was more ska than it was true punk. So upon further probing I’ve basically concluded that Goldfinger is starting to sound like the bands that Feldmann was assisting with on the writing process. That’s depressing, still despite the whining I can see there is definite talent here. “Iron Fist” is a song about how the United States is supposed to be democratic but is shifting towards a republic where things aren’t so “for the people” anymore. Anyways the point is this is one of the other political songs, I guess I jumped the gun on that positive note, since really there’s only two songs that focus on a political message. Feldmann talks about how he knew they’d never find the WMD’s in Iraq, and also how the USA was formed on treason…so from the sounds of things I don’t think he’s too happy about the way that things have played out politically. I don’t think I’ll talk about it anymore than that, but I think just for the message people should hear track nine and seven.
Tracks to Steal: “Iron Fist”, “Behind the Mask”, “Wasted”
Can Goldfinger be taken seriously if they complain more about women than politics?
Who whines more, pop-punk or pop-ska singers?
Judgement Passed
Score: 7
I was gonna give them a high seven, but I know that after a few more listens I will certainly regret the decision. I guess I don’t hate the album, but I trust the word on the street enough to just leave them at average, I guess they’ve sold out, which means they’ve lost their edge. I can deal with that, because money rocks, but selling out ten years down the punk road seems odd considering they have had success in the past with their “old” format.
- Brandon