Gozer Goodspeed – Running with the Outliers
Gozer Goodspeed -
Running with the Outliers
Running with the Outliers
Release Date: Out Now
The evolution of Gozer Goodspeed
has been a privilege to witness and this debut album feels like a real coming
of age, musically speaking of course. ‘Running with the Outliers’ is a short
album at only seven tracks, but Goodspeed’s intention is to hit hard with each song
and leave you wanting more, it’s a classic tactic but one that is overlooked
all too often. Opening with the album title track and recent single, ‘Running
with the Outliers’, we are instantly transported i to Goodspeed’s world of deep
grooves, hooky melodies and the kind of songwriting that really belongs on a 7th
or 8th album, not a debut. The brass neck of the man. ‘Gambler’s
Last Day’ weaves in some mid-west style as the drums and bass of the newly
assembled Neon Gamblers backing band add some heft to the deft guitar work.
Whispered, pleading vocals of “Ghosts of the future and past, make me a better
man built to last” are sent up along with the sparks from the campfire, hoping
to see one more sunrise over that horizon.
One of Goodspeed’s great qualities
is his unpredictability so it is reassuring to raise my eyebrows at a title
like ‘Pumas and Neon Signs’ which introduces a song of meandering, almost
disorientated bliss with softly crashing cymbals and swimming guitars that, if
you close your eyes and lean back, will carry you off downstream. ‘If Not
Yourself, Who Do You Think Will Save You?’ is a wonderfully esoteric title for
a tune that starts off as Grunge-Blues but soon develops in to something with more
attitude as our troubadour delivers some home-truths alongside his trademark
guitar work. Storytelling is another central tenet of Goodspeed’s work and ‘King
Point Marina’ is a great example of that, channelling Bob Dylan and Shane
McGowan atop some forlorn guitars and sombre strings to tell a tale of a
Plymouth waterfront location.
Kicking things up a notch as we
enter the home straight, ‘February Almost Broke Me’ finds Goodspeed and his
Neon Gamblers in loose form as the guitars strum with an ominous persistence
and that vocal rasp cuts through the night air like a chainsaw through a block
of ice, chipping off shards to drop in to neat bourbon. ‘This is the Pathway’
is the encore tune that starts like the drunken ramblings of a man who has
nothing left but the blues to keep him
company but Goodspeed is better than that and as the rhythm section wearily
join in this becomes almost evangelic in tone and length. This is the end of a
long opening act for Gozer Goodspeed and as we are introduced to his new sidekicks
and new characters in his songs you can only be enticed by the prospect for Act
II and all that it has to bring. For now, however, a tip of the hat and a turn
towards to the sunset with his guitar strapped to his back is all you’ll get
from Gozer Goodspeed – he’s not one for hanging around in one place too long.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/gozergoodspeed/
Live Dates:
17th November – The London Inn, Plympton
21st November - Blues Bar, Plymouth
23rd November – Album Launch @ the B-Bar,
Plymouth w/Paul Armer
28th November – SQ Bar, Braunton
29th November – The Prince of Wales, Ilfracombe