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Goodman Brown opened the night with their poppy, energetic rock tinged with Beach Boys harmonies and synth-rock flourishes. Guitarist Peter Bistis, bassist Luke Saenz, and keyboardist Alex Russo are all fantastic singers with distinct voices. Russo’s voice, and the songs he sang, were bluesy in a Tom Waits sort of way, and often tongue-in-cheek, with just the right mix of raunchiness and fragility; they were the best of the set. I find rock bands often struggle with incorporating the piano into their sound, and I was impressed with how seamlessly they did it. Overall, Goodman Brown’s set was a breezy pleasure, and they set a great tone for the night. - Best New Bands
Rare are the times when anyone gets excited about an opening act especially when it's the opener at a small local club. Rarer still is when it is a music journalist/critic that is excited. Face it. Most opening acts in these situations are your sister's boyfriend's basement band. They're the guys and/or girls who, back in the day, would have played high school dances but with DJ's taking over those gigs are relegated to the local teen center, VFW or coffee house. If they're lucky enough to be from New Jersey, there's always the neighborhood basement show.
Basement shows are a breeding ground just teeming with wannabe rockers. Out them are birthed quality, innovative and creative musicians. With so many of them emerging each day in this one small state its understandable how they come together making band after band that makes an indelible mark on American music. One of these groups is Goodman Brown who were on the bill at The Space this past Friday night.
The band claims their sound comes from influences such as Vampire Weekend, The Beatles, Artic Monkeys and Weezer. However, fans of Motion City Soundtrack, Ludo or the original Panic at The Disco would definitely dig this sound. Clever keyboards, a solid guitar line, fun bass riffs and drums that get the crowd moving and hands clapping are part of what makes this band just fun to listen to whether live or recorded. On stage the members' energy is non-stop high which the audience can't help but tap into.
Moon Digby is their debut album. Although mainly recorded in a vacant house, with some tracking done in studios at NYU this self-produced record sound like a major label release done in a professional studio. It does have with some of the tracking done at the studios at NYU. It was mixed by an engineer with a pretty impressive pedigree, Anthony "Rocky" Gallo (the Killers, the Xx, Cymbals Eat Guitars) at the Cutting Room Studios in NYC. After you listen to it you'll wonder why you haven't seen it at your local record store or heard some of the tracks on the radio. More than one are just three minutes of awesome musical and lyrical hooks that would make great singles.
So check out Goodman Brown. They're on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Goodman-Brown, Myspace at http://www.myspace.com/goodmanbrownnj and you can by their music at http://goodmanbrown.bandcamp.com/ - Hartford Examiner
"Infectious, eclectic pop ideal dipped in sunshine." - CMJ
Discography
"Goodman Brown" EP (April 2008)
"Moon Digby" (September 2010)
"Christmas" EP (December 2010)
Free-EP (August 2011)
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Bio
Goodman Brown’s clever brand of pop songwriting gets right to the point in true rock n’ roll form. They’re gonna play loud. They’re gonna play fast. And they’re gonna play hooks. Lots of them.
The collaborative brainchild of three singer-songwriters growing up together in suburban New Jersey, Goodman Brown first began as more of a pop collective than a band. Despite radically different musical backgrounds, everyone subscribed to the general philosophy that a great pop song should be hooky, poignant, and catchy as hell without meandering too far from the writer’s sense of humor. The group looked to classic examples from groups like the Beatles to learn how to write melodies and organize their arrangements and drew influence from their punk rock roots to learn how to deliver those hooks with attitude and urgency. Their sound combines memorable hooks with abrasive guitar sounds, jaunty piano riffs, and screaming synth lines. Their lyrics are littered with examples of suburban frustration, self-deprecating sarcasm, and comically moribund cynicism.
Following performances at CMJ’s Music Marathon and SXSW, and an exhausting touring schedule, Goodman Brown returned to their small hometown in Scotch Plains, New Jersey in the summer of 2011 to begin honing and refining their recorded sound. With the release of the “Free EP” in August 2011, the band unveiled a new lo-fi sound achieved by experimenting with DIY recording techniques. The “Free EP” and “Holidays” singles were recorded in a big empty house where one of the members used to live.
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