'Passchendaele' tells the story of a tiny town in Belgium that suffered heavily in WWI through the eyes of a young soldier wondering what all the fussing and feuding is about. Strong lyrically, it’s a lovely ditty that goes on the pull for perfect pop, coming up trumps via electronic pokes and prods, tonal guitar strumming, Britpop piano and a choral flugelhorn accompaniment.
A definite nod to early Travis and Gomez abounds, but instead of coming off as a copy-and-paste affair, these GoodBooks inscribe a sense of originality on ‘Passchendaele’, one that spews from each melody as if they have been singing about the Great War all their life.
A preview from their forthcoming debut album Control, out at the end of July, this is a promising and enticing introduction to a band that could become a mainstay in the hearts and minds of pop lovers – if each song on said long-player is as good as this one, a classic could emerge. Plus, instead of blaring on about women and sex to plaintive Britpop, the high road is taken here, as the quartet writes about something interesting, like history. Does chalking on about history does get the girls? Does it matter? Bravo.
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8Shain Shapiro's Score