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I discovered Good Old War via the single “Broken Record,” released in advance of their most recent album Broken Into Better Shape. I loved it! It had a zany, somewhat frantic arrangement and a host of great melodic hooks, punctuated by background vocals right out of a Schoolhouse Rocks segment. Additionally, as someone often accused of being a ‘broken record,’ it was fun to revisit a term that has become increasingly anachronistic with the eclipse of vinyl. But the song left me wondering if the band might be little more than a novelty act. A perusal of their back catalogue suggested not.
Their prior three albums were to various degrees acoustic folk or folk-pop in orientation. Their first album, Only Way to Be Alone, melded harmony vocals, acoustic guitars and some great melodic electric guitar lead lines on tracks like “No Time” and “That’s What’s Wrong.” Their next release, Good Old War, went in a more folk and harmony vocal direction, while album number three, Come Back as Rain, upped the pop dimension, particularly on songs like “Can’t Go Home,” “Better Weather,” and “Over and Over.”
But that didn’t prepare me for Broken Into Better Shape, which in all respects – production, songwriting, performance – is an advance on their previous efforts. It is also their most poprock record. There are so many great songs here but I have featured four that showcase the range of styles. “Broken Record” is fun poprock, “Fly Away” shows what Good Old War can do with layered vocals, “I’m the One” has a great repeated guitar riff that anchors the song, while “Never Going to See Me Cry” has a driving hypnotic quality and some great lyrics.
For those near Toronto, Good Old War will perform at an intimate venue September 28, 2015, with tickets available here. Good Old War website
Come of Age is a bit more stark, addressing Britain’s economic and social malaise in “No Hope,” “Weirdo,” “All in Vain,” and “Lonely World.” The album draws creatively from 1950s sources, particularly on the vocals for songs like “Lonely World” and “Teenage Icon”. In 2013 they released an EP, Melody Calling, marking a departure into a more dreamy pop style on the title track. This year’s English Graffiti takes all these previous elements but combines them into a more solid, confident sound, ranging from dreamy pop (“Denial”), to solid singalong fun (“Handsome”), to up front guitar riffing (“20/20”).
I wanted to kick off this blog with a song that would capture the fun, joy, and exhilaration of poprock music. This recent song from Family of the Year does the job. In my alternate universe poprock world this song would be a giant hit, blaring out of AM radios across the continent. Family of the Year have made much pleasant pop music on previous releases, gaining some attention for their contribution to the Boyhood soundtrack (“Hero”) and with the lush Beach Boys-esque “Summer Girl” from their first release. But nothing that takes off quite like “Make You Mine”. The song kicks off with a simple piano riff, which is immediately echoed by the rhythm guitar, drawing you in with a classic poprock hook. The lyrics pay tribute to summer love, even if they are somewhat ambiguous about the singer’s intentions. For instance, when he says “All the boys and all the pretty girls, summer time I’m going to make you mine” is he suggesting he’s just not that fussy about which gender he ends up with? Such a sentiment would not be out of sync with today’s youth. The best of poprock makes you feel good and this song definitely delivers on that promise.Make You Mine
Poprock Record 