A bunch of boys from Brissy called Good Boy have impressed many with a few singles they’ve released over the last two years. Transparency, Waste Days or Ease Your Temper and No Love Back Home are all killer tunes that have led the indie rock three-piece to some awesome opportunities, one of these being the Triple J Unearthed artist chosen to open the Brisbane leg of St Jerome’s Laneway Festival earlier this year.
Now, the boys will be taking your fancy with their debut six track EP No Love For Back Home featuring all three of the singles, and although they only offer three new tunes, they’ll tickle your ears for sure, undoubtably leaving with you an urge to hear more.
One of the most anticipated debut EPs of the year, No Love For Back Home is a slice of tight indie rock from Good Boy.
Immediately what Good Boy master is the playfulness of the bass that locks itself into place with the guitar – it all just works neat and tidy. Not enough bands these days take full advantage of the melodic and rhythmic ability of the bass that allows this ‘locking in’ to happen. To hear a band that features a tight sound that skilfully plays with countermelody and counter-rhythms and almost seamlessly locks into one motion are two things that too many bands are missing. The bass isn’t just there to hit the root of the chords, my friends.
Opener, Punch To The Gut has a humbled feel to it, as well as a tad of well-justified anger. Frontman Rian King is frustrated with someone – ‘A punch to the gut/a kick to the psyche‘ – and you can totally feel his exasperation, spurred on by the bristling, repeated chorus that chants ‘What!? How!? You would know!’ with the power of a football crowd.
Both Punch to the Gut and Green Dress showcase some pretty tight work on the high-hats from the drummer, Stu McKenzie, which is encircled by some super catchy riff work from Tom Lindeman – one of the things that sets Good Boy apart from the deluge of run-of-the-mill indie bands out there. The solid bass foundations of King completes the holy trinity within Good Boy which create a concrete platform for melodic elements to fall upon and grooves to work off.
Higher is an awesome jam that features some clever syncopation and powerful, George Of The Jungle tom work. The tune slips in as a neat, light-hearted intermissive jam in the that nicely bridges the other, possibly more heavy-themed songs together.
No Love For Back Home is a solid debut EP that spotlights some great aspects of Good Boy’s sound. It’s tough to be unique amongst many a sea of other bands that are all doing something in the same vein, but Good Boy have a spark that illuminates them above so many others.
