Goon has come into their own with their newest EP, Paint By Numbers, Vol 1. The band has come to indie prominence for their infectious melodies and sassy beats, and this EP has all of that and more stuffed into a bite sized, 5 track package. For a very indie album, the attention that can be given to the smaller size of an EP works to the strengths of the band and makes for a higher production value and streamlined musicality that can sometimes feel lost in the rest of their repertoire. The bandleader, Kenny Becker describes this new endeavor as “The way it is when you’re out in nature, but you can still hear the highway not far off.” The hook of the opening track, with its eerily familiar jangly sound, and the airy but sincere vocals of the rest of the project help create just such an atmosphere.
The show opens with a dreamy, simple ballad in “Garden of Our Neighbor”, that is teaming with production to a level I haven’t heard from an indie band in a while. I was enamored with its fantastically layered synth sounds that bring you out of your comfort zone to somehow an even comfier place. The soundbites of the ocean and beach are a nice touch too. The next song, “Fruiting Body”, is just as familiar, but streamlined in a different direction than the opening track. Starting with the stimulating sound of windchimes, Becker’s lovingly sad vocal quality, mixed with choral vocals from the rest of the band elevate this track above just a simple bedroom pop mix to a melodic bask in the forest from your own porch (most of the lyrics in this track relate to the nature aspect that Becker touched on above). “Hi From Beyond” is much more instrumentally driven, with a biting percussion beat thorough the song that is cut with the calming vocal quality of the main chorus again. This song brings us out of our comfort zone once again with a discordant, and somewhat out of place guitar solo that, in my opinion, works due to the sheer time and energy placed on sound production (and the rest of the album for that matter). The title track of the EP is much more delicate and ethereal than the last track we heard but does so in such a way that wraps the project in such a neat bow, even though it isn’t the last song. The band uses this track as a launching point for some of their stranger sounds that weren’t well understood in their other projects and rep. Masterful vocal and instrumental mixing make this track feel disjointed, but as I have likened to before, feels right at home. The short piano excerpt to close out the track reminds the listener of a level of musicianship that is needed for such well done production to even be viable. The final track in the EP, “Siren Rising”, has Becker’s wife Emily take the reins on vocals and delivers just as sweet, if not a short-lived lyrical lullaby.
Paint By Numbers, Vol 1, simply put by its implication, makes me so excited for Vol 2. The band’s knack for charming, soft melodies with amazing production make for a wonderful 16 minutes, if only it was longer. It is obvious that this project will be continued through another EP, but the songs we do have are still cut short. While the vocal and production quality are top notch, the fact of the matter is, the lyrical quality is lacking a bit, simply because of the volume. I would love to delve deeper into Becker and the rest of the band’s lyric writing ability in the next project, but while we wait, we have compelling and well done instrumental melodic lines and pure music to enjoy, all thanks to these bunch of goons…
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