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Goddamnit

I'll Never Be Okay, I'll Never Be The Same

Written by: PP on 29/10/2017 18:47:46

I've been putting this one off for months, and for good reason. Goddamnit's sophomore album "I'll Never Be Okay, I'll Never Be The Same" is the kind of record where on first listen you immediately know that it's a grower and one that demands weeks and weeks of paying close attention and re-listening before it clicks. It's a record with immediate depth and a sense of yearning nostalgia that suggests there's something special lurking just underneath the surface, just like its predecessor "How To Take The Burn", which was one of the greatest and most overlooked punk albums of 2014 precisely for the reasons outlined above.

With emotional howls drenched in smoky flavor and a messy soundscape that manages to hide the melodies into a semi-cacophonous instrumental chaos, "I'll Never Be Okay..." certainly challenges its listener. It's a difficult listen that only occasionally reveals its strength out bare, such as on "Steady Diet Of Sugar", where a complex melody is accompanied by downplayed vocals and a chorus that feels as melancholic as it does nostalgic. The explosive shout-out-loud style of "Blue Jeans" is likewise a highlight that sticks out from the record's anonymous flow of laid-back songs with its energy and dynamic flow.

Now, I'm all for complex material and grower albums because these tend to be the best ones, but here, Goddamnit manage to cloud their earnest, emotionally-charged vocals and depth-laden guitar melodies into too much of a puzzle. Either that, or the underlying melodies just aren't strong enough to keep prolonged interest, which is surprising considering how similar the record is to its predecessor, or to bands like Small Brown Bike, Samiam or Jawbreaker. But after few months of waiting for the record to open up, giving it room and space to grow, I have to admit defeat and suggest that it's either too nondescript for its own good, or that the songwriting simply doesn't match up to what they have presented in the past. Sometimes, simplification is the way forward.

Download:Blue Jeans, Fix Dis, Steady Diet Of Sugar
For the fans of: Jawbreaker, Samiam, Small Brown Bike, Hot Water Music
Listen: Facebook

Release date 03.03.2017
Jump Start Records