Sunday, January 28, 2007

Album Review: 'Bring It On' by Goose


It would be easy to proclaim Goose as ‘the new Soulwax’. Probably as effortless as it is to say Skins is ‘the new Hollyoaks’ (albeit with an indie haircut) or that The Fratellis’ Chelsea Daggers has merely drawn a few Vargas girls on Fat Les’ Vindaloo sleeve. Yes, that lazy.

Sure, this four-piece is from Belgium – as are more than 10 million other people - and, okay, they do combine their stage-rocking rock dynamics with electronics. However Goose hails from a place called Kortrijk: where seemingly only that population is able to pronounce the town’s name and not one of those citizens has ever bothered to open a nightclub. At least not in this lot’s life time.

Bring It On is then the sound of Bert, Mick, Tom and Dave (as they like to be known) making their own noise: their own scene. And from the sound of it, their outlet is one that’s developed with Aerosmith and Vitalic held in similar esteem; a place that’s likely to be shaken regularly by the shouty vocals and fuzz-driven riffs of MSTRKRFT’s remixes and the dirty distortion of Justice. Admittedly the odd Soulwax record might have enjoyed an airing from time to time.

This debut Skint long-player sees them showcase their approach concisely. Most tracks are below the four minute mark which helps to maintain the energy and hold interest throughout. There’s versatility too with Slow Down almost taking N*E*R*D’s Rock Star to its logical conclusion, the hypnotic machinery of the album’s title track and the rowdy, dense glam-tech of 3T4. Plus, before a demented foghorn takes control of British Mode, there are regular cries of ‘I tried to hit it hard’. On this evidence, Goose has achieved just that.

7/10

Released 5/2 on Skint

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