Label: Partisan
Released: 19th July 2019
Rating: ★★★★
A lot of different things can happen in the making of a record, some good and some not so good. While it’s the not so good things that tend to shape a record the most, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad thing.
Take for example the making of Goon’s debut release, ‘Heaven Is Humming.’ During the making of the band’s latest effort, Goon’s vocalist, Kenny Becker, had to go under the knife in order to fix (temporarily) a sinus condition that affected his senses.
With such a detrimental occurrence, one would think it would have had a negative impact on the overall feel of the record. But interestingly enough, the exact opposite would come to be; thus, leaving Goon with an album filled with 11 songs that capture the last couple of years in a unique, yet totally impactful, way.
From start to finish, the album paints this interesting picture of the band’s status-quo while also taking you on an unexpected journey of lo-fi pop ballads to gritty and dark-grunge jams.
The unpredictable nature of each new genre-bending song adds this enticing element to the record at large, leaving you guessing what each new song will bring. It’s different, and maybe even a little strange, to have a record pulling from so many elements, but the band keeps the variety refreshing, never going to the point where the album feels too wishy-washy.
And that could be due to the few constants that remain throughout this album: Becker’s dreamy delivery of the lyrics, the melodic and heavy-hitting backings of the instruments and the high-quality level of production.
With such a dizzying mix, Goon pushes the envelope of the unexpected and makes it good, which is really difficult to achieve for a band at any stage in their career.
Overall, ‘Heaven Is Humming’ is everything you could want from a debut release, and then some. It offers a little something for everyone while also capturing the band’s growth over the past couple of years.
