THE GOA EXPRESS – Second Time
There was a point, I can practically bet, that just about everyone who ended up wearing black leather jackets, skull and bones necklaces, and playing in a goth band, just wanted to roll with the kids who sang pretty melodies over simple chord changes and pretended to be the Beatles. It’s only natural that many would desire this.
This kind of wholesomeness, unlike what many producers across modern music history might believe, is not easily manufactured. The genuine excitement of playing in your first real band, as well as the nearly unstoppable power of youth, can’t really be manufactured or understated.
Most teenage bands don’t get the chance to actually be good, usually because they break up before getting to a point at which their work is any good. The Goa Express, however, won’t have that issue. Strolling through town on their bikes like a pack of 80s obsessed Morrissey fans, the teenage quintet are already a tightly know musical unit. They may be quoting from the slim, but great book written by the La’s or Ride, but they’re here now and Second Time is genuinely wholesome music that is worth your time.
Gumiho – Hey! You!
Cultural appropriation is a delicate subject, naturally. However uneasy thinking about it might make you feel, consider for a second the fact that the role of culture is to travel across borders easier than any diplomats can.
The blues started in one specific place and was a representation of the hardships of the people living there. It then became the basis of the guitar-rock that dominated the 1970s, and those songs still get played on the radio. Reggae was started in one particular place, but from the early British punks to many modern-day hit records, it’s overgrown its borders. Even many of the best Celtic-punk bands aren’t from Ireland, but from all corners of the world where the sounds, stories, and messages resonated.
Gumiho is a four-piece group from South Korea that resembles a 90s California punk-rock act. But, while their sound is familiar, in truth, Hey! You! ends up tighter and more focused than many of the bands of the era. It shows a band creating a deep connection with punk culture. Hooky, full of energy, and showcasing a group that has honed its craft, Hey! You! does what all great pop-punk songs should. It demands to be played repeatedly.
