Storming instrumental rock
'Visionary' post rock is what the hyped up press release says about Blackpool band Goonies Never Say Die's second album. That would be quite the achievement seeing how solidified the compositional structures that we recognise as 'post-rock' have become in the last decade. Since Mogwai unleashed 'Young Team' to the record buying public back when Britpop was disappearing up its own union jack covered arse there has been a torrent of bands wearing down the Scot's once startling sonics. Is there anything left to intrigue in this the most woolly and amorphous of rock genres?
Goonies Never Say Die new album 'No Words To Voice Our Hopes and Fears' sounds very familiar on first inspection: lots of instrumental guitar driven songs augmented with FX and piano motifs (see 'I Love You But In the End I Will Destroy'). Despite the familiarity of the songs and their portentous, longwinded titles like 'Nothing Remains Forever Yet The Future Still Holds Hope', this album rocks like an absolute bastard. Imagine three or four 'Glasgow Mega Snakes' strewn together and you get the idea. The Isis-like 'The Wrong End of a Trembling Knife' is full of violence, aggression, contemplation and the odd moment of beauty. It's a combination and it's one that can be found all over the pitted and scraggy terrain of 'No Words To Voice Our Hopes and Fears'.
The band may have no literal voice on these songs but they do paint with a wide enough palette to allow a wide section of people to enjoy their spiky rumblings. The big distorted riffs are there but so are the Coldplay-esque sweeping vistas of drums and piano. Visionary is a big word to bandy about and it was always unlikely that there would be any shock of the new type feelings from this record but there is a highly satisfying dose of craft and enthusiasm to be appreciated.