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Good Luck

Into Lake Griffy
2008
self-released

Good Luck - Into Lake Griffy (Cover Artwork)

Review by: Justin
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Published on September 12th 2008

Good Luck start their debut with "How to Live Here," a song that sets the tone for the whole album: It's fast without being aggressive, melancholy without being navel gazing, positive without being a put-on. It also makes you feel like it's 90 degrees outside and you've got no choice but to sweat it out. As the band continues, you begin to get the equation of the band: It's equal parts noodly, clean guitars with punchy basslines and jazzy drum fills. It meshes together very well, creating a very unique sound that almost asks for comparisons to bands like the Weakerthans in their early years.

Tracks like "Pajammin" get their groove on, while the duo of "Stars Were Exploding" and "Bringing Them Back to Life" showcase the songwriting and vocal talents of frontpeople Matt Tobey (Matty Pop Chart) and Ginger Alford (One Reason, Love Zombie), with "1001 Open Hands" displaying how anthemic you can be without being trite. The band takes a lot of the best elements of the respective players' previous acts while infusing their sound with a very jammy, clean aesthetic. The whole disc is very unique, defying easy classification and comparisons.

I'd be remiss to review this without mentioning the fact that the disc has not left the car stereo in nearly three months, was the soundtrack to a recent cross-country trip, and has been topping my Last.FM charts for some time. Simply put, this is the best album I've heard this year and despite new releases from some of my favorite bands (Dead to Me, Dillinger Four, Alkaline Trio, the Constantines) I don't see that changing.

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Posted by ConJohn on 2009-01-01 22:05:18

Album of the year

Such a great band, saw them at Fest and was blown away. This album is solid from start to finish. Its amazing that there hasnt been much hype about it.

Posted by ConsolationPrizefighter on 2008-11-26 17:27:27
My Score:

This album is ridiculously good. If you can't get into it in the least there's probably something wrong with you.

Posted by thestatewillwitheraway on 2008-10-08 07:59:38
My Score:

this is amazing

Posted by SilentStorms on 2008-09-17 11:39:51

"despite new releases from some of my favorite bands (Dead to Me, Dillinger Four, Alkaline Trio, the Constantines)"

Dude, that ALKTRIO cd fucking suuuucked, if you liked that why would I listen to this?

Posted by eyepatchguy on 2008-09-15 18:10:01
My Score:

These guys are (somehow) even better live. Plus, Matt's beard is intense.

Posted by dakotacore on 2008-09-14 20:50:27

Damn, I really like this. Good review.

Posted by dante3000 on 2008-09-13 19:59:49

Glad I don't have to review this. The album is amazing. Like fucking amazing amazing. Like, listen to it and then be like, "wow" that shit was off the hizook.
That's right, "Hizook"
-Dante

Posted by shanholtzer on 2008-09-13 19:36:20

i was drunk when I read/wrote and thought the beginning of the second paragraph was just a list of "yr fav tracks" or something.

after readinggggg what you said about "2 different sides" to one story i listen to both tracks back to back and only really notice that the girl uses "he" where Matt used "I". I knew the tracks were essentially 2 different versions of the same song. I didn't notice that the sentence actually read "the duo of "Stars Were Exploding" and "Bringing Them Back to Life" showcase the songwriting and vocal talents of frontpeople Matt Tobey (Matty Pop Chart) and Ginger Alford" My bad. I'm dumb.

Posted by fuzzy on 2008-09-13 17:00:25

"stars were exploding" and "brining them back to life" are the same song

Really? Hadn't noticed.

If you actually listen, its the same story, sung from two different perspectives. I think it works really well.

Posted by kidentropy on 2008-09-13 14:01:02
My Score:

Into Lake Griffy is such a remarkably consistent album. Every song is incredibly catchy, well written and full of fantastic musicianship. If you get a chance, see these guys live. It's amazing watching them play all these complex riffs and sing at the same time.

Posted by shanholtzer on 2008-09-13 00:56:39
My Score:

"stars were exploding" and "brining them back to life" are the same song

Posted by xIxKilledxJesusx on 2008-09-12 23:41:43

this has members from one reason right? i was never into that band but this band is fucking great

Posted by elephantdwarf on 2008-09-12 20:26:18

"It's fast without being aggressive, melancholy without being navel gazing, positive without being a put-on. It also makes you feel like it's 90 degrees outside and you've got no choice but to sweat it out."

this doesn't make this sound appealing. at all...

Posted by greg0rb on 2008-09-12 20:14:29

I was so pleasantly surprised by the Matty Pop Chart album I got to review that I really should check this out. Have only listened to their myspace stuff thus far- not bad.
-Greg

Posted by icapped2pac on 2008-09-12 18:53:32
My Score:

Sounds too quirky-kitschy for me.

Posted by chokingvictim on 2008-09-12 17:28:10

this album is amazing. too good.

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