I’m bad at terms, so throw this first part away if you are a music historian or even a music reviewer yourself—perhaps on a blog, on a brick wall, or the user side of a bathroom stall door. Recent days have given us a smorgasbord of post-post-psych rock, with parts folk, parts drug rock, ‘60s and ‘70s-inspired stuff. Real flowing lyrics and harmonies, wandering guitars, folksy beats, but with good rocking pace and sometimes even a real kickass energy. I imagine it being a massive scene in Brooklyn, but it’s probably pretty wide-reaching and I’m just being mean. When it’s bad, its baaaaad, noodling, and forced. When it’s good—here’s the second part of the review—it’s like Thee Oh Sees or The Fresh And Onlys, you know? Goodnight Loving are surviving in Milwaukee (makes them even more lovable) and dang good. I didn’t connect with all the songs, but I like the sound, and the good songs are great. It’s got the folksy psych garage vibe, with sounds that seem to descend from true old country, and it works with them—really peppy and fun with that energy I was mentioning. It’s a style working from the past but the band feels young and fresh. On some o’ them review blogs, this album has been described as a lot cleaner than previous rumbly efforts (I haven’t heard them until now and am gonna check their other records out). But it doesn’t sound like they got rid of the spirit.
–mike (Dirtnap)