When the name of the five-piece melodic hardcore band Goodtime Boys comes into my head, it brings up thoughts and imagery of those stereotypical barbershop quartets. The ones with the red and white candy cane striped get-ups, moustaches and oddly contrasting voices – that’s what I’m talking about. However, this band is far from being similar to one of those quartets – which makes me wonder: are those even still around? Anyway, Goodtime Boys released its new album, Rain, on May 20 under Bridge Nine Records.
The band’s first album, What’s Left to Let Go, was full of twists, turns and surprises in every track. Each track packed a fistful of emotion that hit you right in the face. Rain takes the few shortcomings and lackluster aspects of What’s Left to Let Go and improves upon each one of them immensely. While a few tracks from the debut album were forgettable, Rain doesn’t have this problem. Each track is memorable from start to finish.
One of the more noticeable improvements that was made on Rain was the guitar melodies. Each one of them is more memorable than the last and is a vast improvement on previous works. The guitar riffs – even the simple ones – are all brilliant and give us a taste of the UK melodic hardcore flavour that we all love. The drumming is phenomenal partly because the drummer doesn’t make the mistake of overusing any piece of his kit. Even with all of the other noise, the bass is quite audible and brings more depth to the album. The vocals have only gotten better since the last album, as there is a variety of singing and screaming to keep things interesting.
I’ve listened to Rain a dozen times, yet I still can’t find any qualms with the album. There isn’t a single bit of this album that loses my attention or bores me, and I can’t even pick out any single track that would be considered an absolute highlight – meaning you couldn’t go wrong listening to any song on Rain. What’s Left to Let Go failed to catch a lot of attention despite the fact that it was an extraordinary release, but perhaps Rain will make more of an impact. I encourage everyone to give it a chance because you won’t be disappointed.
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