Review Summary: It indulges a bit too much early on, but Goodridge's 2014 LP is a surprisingly eclectic record from a startlingly multi-faceted musician.
I really don’t know what to think of Dale Goodridge. A UK songwriter with a fascination for the more elegant side of rock, he’s a “DIY” kind of musician. Building a presence on social media for the last few years, Dale Goodridge has been pushing his own musical style with unstoppable drive. But that’s where things get tricky: what kind of style is Goodridge after? After listening to 2014’s
Happiness in a World Full of People, I’m still not sure. This single man has clearly been educated in a variety of rock genres and subgenres, and
Happiness in a World Full of People, while a little bit too indulgent on majesty early on, shows a man balancing multiple disciplines of rock while still keeping his head above the water.
Goodridge’s voice works the best when alongside soaring guitar chords and simmering backing melodies. He constantly channels the smooth, breathtaking tone of Peter Gabriel, as heard in the superb opener “Crash.” There’s rarely a moment where Goodridge cools off, though; he almost always shouts out, which for better or for worse, leaves limited moments for softer balladry. The vocals are stunning and surprisingly virtuoso, but admittedly, the kind of vocals he uses feel under-implemented. Most of the album sticks to soaring grandiosity, but the very brief moments of variety are where you really see Goodridge at his most chameleon. “Girl=Good” is a fantastic left turn in the album’s second half, with more classic rock influences in a “Genesis meets Van Halen” hybrid (in the track, Goodridge’s voice is startlingly similar to David Lee Roth’s).
Behind the Gabriel-esque vocals stands a kind of majestic instrumental direction that jumps back and forth between ambient soundscapes and bursting post-rock guitars. It’s pretty impressive, and it shows Goodridge’s skill with toned, crisp bursts of guitars. The soothing keyboards in “The Pledge” cool the intensity just enough, with the A Perfect Circle-esque guitar tones still getting their dues. The second half of the album, on the other hand, is where things really start mixing up, but with great effect. “Look Inside” is doom metal with an 80’s pop coat of paint, a shocking twist as the album steadily closes. “They’re Sleeping” sounds right out of an 80’s new wave track, funky guitars and bass included. With such an eclectic aesthetic in the second half, it makes the first half of
Happiness in a World Full of People all the more underwhelming in comparison. While the opening portion is beautifully outburst with majesty, it doesn’t compare to the constant baiting and switching of the second half, which shows Goodridge pulling out every trick he has and managing to keep it all interesting as well.
If Goodridge didn’t wait until the last half of the album to show off his multi-faceted skillset, I think
Happiness in a World Full of People would’ve been a much more impressive album. He can do post-rock. He can do singer-songwriting. He can do majestic 80’s pop. He can do classic rock. But his enormous bag of tricks isn’t used to its utmost potential. I would’ve loved to hear more left turns like “Look Inside” or “Girl=Good”, especially after the first half of the album, which seems to blend together a bit too well. Dale Goodridge has demonstrated his versatility as a musician, and while there are some parts of his work that feel a tad underutilized,
Happiness in a World Full of People shows a fresh new face in rock who’s dying to check out whatever genre is next in line, and give it a go.
