GOODLUCK JONATHAN

Goodluck Jonathan are a five piece from Brighton who, somewhat bizarrely, are named after the President of Nigeria. Three of the band members, Nick, Max and Hank, met at school while the remaining members, Sam and Jim, met the others when sharing a house with them. The songs from this full length release, the band’s first, are taken from the 3 EPs that they have issued thus far in their burgeoning career. The album begins with ‘Bruises Disappear’ which is a mid tempo track with some Rage Against The Machine staccato style guitar and a distinctive spoken vocal style which is used throughout this release. The second track, ‘Stranded’, follows in much the same vein, although there is an additional hypnotic quality to the sound. ‘Broken Heart’ follows and, as befits the title, the vocals have a rather plaintive aspect to them. Of the remaining tracks, all of which follow pretty much the same formula, the best are probably ‘Backs To The Wall’ which has a hugely infectious chorus and ‘Away From Here’ which possesses a stop-start riff and an almost ethereal quality to the vocals. Goodluck Jonathan are hard to pigeonhole as their music cannot be identified with one particular genre; indeed, it would seem to span genres and take the best out of each one. The result is a release that is full of atmospheric, menacing, brooding, downbeat, even beguiling tracks but perhaps the most important adjective to be used to describe this record is great. While not a full on heavy rock band by any means, there is enough on this release for any discerning rock fan to appreciate and take pleasure in and, as such, I would heartily recommend this album.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Something Nothing Records

Album

THIS IS OUR WAY OUT

Review by Dave Uphill

RUNNING TIME:

39:59

RELEASE DATE:

11th July 2011

TRACK LISTING

1) Bruises Disappear
2) Stranded
3) Broken Heart
4) Lights Burn My Eyes
5) Fatman
6) Fall of America
7) Backs to the Wall
8) Away From Here
9) Mad Licks
10) Stop
11) This is Our Way Out

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

UK

"a release that is full of atmospheric, menacing, brooding, downbeat, even beguiling tracks but perhaps the most important adjective to be used to describe this record is great."