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Goldfinger

Hello Destiny

Written by: PP on 25/04/2008 22:07:47

Goldfinger has never really caught my attention properly. I\'ve listened through a number of their past albums without ever being hooked on them as much as I am to their fellow genre colleagues Less Than Jake and Reel Big Fish. Their newest release \"Hello Destiny\" has changed my view of the band, especially because reviews of this awesome record suggest that their early albums are supposed to be even better than the new one. If they\'re any more consistent than \"Hello Destiny\", I don\'t have any trouble believing that.

The album opener \"One More Time\" is a high-octane punk rock track, featuring infectious choruses and dramatic bridges. It works as a nice mood setter for the album, underlining straight away that you\'re listening to a pure punk rock album. That the following track \"Get Up\" is pure ska just shows the versatility of the record - notice how vocalist Feldmann is able to jump from singing pop punkish choruses to ones fitting to a ska beat easily. Both tracks are easily the best I\'ve heard from Goldfinger in years. \"Goodbye\" pushes the speed-pedal all the way down, to demonstrate that the band can still write straight-forward punk rock too, kind of like the hardcore punk track \"Not Amused\" later on in the record.

More ska arrives in the form of \"The Only One\", including all the traditional horn instruments and the jumpy ska-beat, before the \"Crimson\"-era Alkaline Trio sounding \"War\" breaks the bank as being the most dramatic/epic Goldfinger song to date. This approach doesn\'t really work for the band at all, especially not when it\'s straight away contrasted with \"How Do You Do It\", another Less Than Jake-styled positive energy ska/punk track.

The biggest problem Goldfinger has on \"Hello Destiny\" is that while about half of the album is an extremely fun listen, the other half disappoints in being either a) too predictable or b) just bad songs. When the band is at its most energetic, such as on \"One More Time\", or alternatively on its most ska, like on \"Get Up\", they\'re one of the best bands in the ska/punk genre. But when they slow down the tunes or deviate from that style like on \"Handjobs For Jesus\", they are nothing more than a mediocre punk band wishing they were writing better songs than they are. Luckily, the former leaves the latter in the shadow, making \"Hello Destiny\" a good record overall.

Download: One More Time, Get Up, Without Me
For the fans of: Less Than Jake, Guttermouth
Listen: Myspace
Buy: iTunes

Release date 22.04.2008
SideOneDummy Records