So there's a history behind this story. I don't want to re-type it all paragraph and verse so in short...
Went out in early August, didn't expect to see music so had no camera, came across a couple of acts (Thea Ford and a band called Goodtimes Goodtimes) who sounded quite good in a venue that wasn't acoustically very good (Bar Music Hall), came away with no videos just a couple of promo cards...and that is that...I wrote a blog about it, moved on that was that.
So now fast forward in time to October and more specifically October 5th. On arriving at Koko to see Joshua Radin I ended up by the merch stall. I don't quite know why I was drawn in that direction so early or what made me take a closer look but something out the corner of my eye caught my attention, there was something familiar about it. On closer inspection it appeared to be a promo card I already had, for Goodtimes Goodtimes. I turned around excitedly to show my mate Dave having realised they were the support act, then turned the other way to see the lead singer Francesco Cinelli looking at me like I'd gone slightly mad. He seemed taken aback that I remembered them from August and that I'd remembered that like me, he's a left-handed guitarist (although one of us is amazingly good and deserves to be on a big stage - and the other shall keep writing this blog). He explained he was playing a solo set which made me completely curious.
So we headed for a quick beer and settled in for what turned out to be a bit of a surprise. When I heard Goodtimes Goodtimes back in August I was a bit impartial because the acoustics were so bad. You couldn't tell what was good and what wasn't only that in principal it sounded good. It turns out Francesco is amazing and the music is too. Francesco played a set for I guess 30 - 40 minutes playing songs from their recently released EP Let It Begin including Let It Begin, Love and a couple of tracks from their next album which is set to be released next February.
So there's videos on my youtube channel which you can now access more easily using my new super-fantastic video player in the sidebar.
That's it review over...nothing more to see...oh no no no, don't be so silly. We're only just beginning, take a pit stop if you want, get a drink, have a smoke, hit the toilet if you need to but for goodness sake hurry up and come back you don't want to miss what's below!
So after he'd played Francesco floor walked the venue selling CDs of the album Glue (which is also available on iTunes). I naturally bought a signed copy for myself but again didn't really know what to expect given that I'd seen them as a band in a poor venue and as a solo artist in a great venue. So on Monday night when I got back to the car, I put the CD on and was blown and I mean BLOWN away, in fact elated by what I heard. It was Goodtimes Goodtimes in a third different form a slightly laid back, relaxed and acoustic.
The album begins with the beautiful Summer which reminds me more than a touch of Josh Ritter then heads on into Kids which for some reason I can envisage Paul McCartney playing. We then head a touch more back towards the modern day with three or four brilliant tracks in Sea Shantry, Temporary Freeze and Desire which feel heavily musically influenced by the 70's and maybe a bit Eagles, maybe a bit Dylan-esque (although I hate name dropping Bob Dylan because it's an easy name drop).Then out of the blue comes Sunshine Sunshine which was what I recalled the band being all about when I saw them back in August so it was re-assuring to know that I hadn't lost my senses that night. The album finishes with three utterly brilliant songs in The Red Sky & The Spanish Coast, You Know Why and the wonderfully laid back lazy and warm fuzzy Every Song. All in all its around 39 minutes of pure bliss, music heralding from a time when music meant people who could play and sing songs of genuine quality full of stories, humour and emotion. There's something "lazy Sunday summer late-afternoon" about the whole album, it's the sort of thing you want to listen to whilst laying under the scorching sun.
It's an album you absolutely MUST own, I'm currently viewing it as one of my top three albums of the year and I have bought a lot of new music this year.
Now usually at this point we're done but not so today. The good people of Goodtimes Goodtimes recently released a FREE EP - Let It Begin...Yes it's FREE, so you can download it without having to spend anything. It's 4 tracks with a slightly different but still utterly brilliant vibe, perhaps slightly more modern than Glue and a bit more electric. For all you Coldplay fans out there (and I'm not one, I detest them with a passion) you'll love the final track on the EP "Love", there's something very Coldplay about it. There's no official artwork for the EP and because I'm so anal about having music on my iPod without an album artwork, I knocked this together, which you're more than welcome to use. It's not endorsed by the band but it's my ident for the EP.
So I think I'm pretty much done for today's effort, if you do nothing else and you don't go any buy the album, just do me one tiny little favour, go and download the FREE EP. Oh and for those of you in the USA, they'll be playing 3 gigs shortly.
15th October - Living Room, New York, NY
26th October - Third and Lindsley, Nashville, TN
27th October - New Faces Night @ The Basement, Nashville, TN
No excuses people...go check em out.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend, whatever you do and wherever you are.
Rich x
P.S. - I ain't done yet, there'll be another musical offering tomorrow :-)
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