Goonies Never Say Die
In a Forest Without Trees

Release Date: 2009 | Tracklist

In the middle of the North Atlantic there is a tremendous wellspring of musical ability and talent that for the last few years has produced the most influential post rock bands from Mogwai to God is an Astronaut. One of the United Kingdom’s most recent revelations is Goonies Never Say Die. The name of the band, taken from the famous 80s coming-of-age film, sets the tone for the simple maturity that Barry Parkinson and Steven Trenell create together along with their four closest friends. The Sextet came out of Blackpool, England on the Northwest Coast and quietly found their way to Michigan and into my music library by sheer accident.

I immediately sat down with their debut album, In a Forest Without Trees, and after sitting through an uninspired introduction track of scratchy and angsty ambience I was thrown into “This One Took Forever.” Within seconds you get a real sense for where this album is taking you. Unlike much of the band’s comrades in the genre they do not waste the space they use. Almost every space in the 3 to 7 minute tracks is filled with cinematic and explosive melodies and ambiences. The songs are perfectly lengthed for what they are; at no point do you feel overpowered by the blanketing feeling of their sound. Listening to Goonies makes me want to curl up in a ball and let the music cover me in fleece, or something like that. The most noticeable instrument in the band and the sound that provides their unique sound comes from Dan Kerr, the drummer. Many post rock bands do not focus on the rhythm section of their bands but Kerr’s solid and always perfectly written drum lines provide a perfect canvas for the guitars and keyboard to lay beautiful melodies that blend in with the atmosphere and creates an incredibly heart wrenching soundscape.

Tweet

user ratings (11)

rate it Awful - 1 Very Poor - 1.5 Poor - 2 Average - 2.5 Good - 3 Great - 3.5 Excellent - 4 Superb - 4.5 Classic - 5

3.7 great

Rank: #0 for 2009