Every now and then, in a pile of indie albums full of irony and sarcasm, you find one band that screams sincerity. That's exactly what The Goodbye Radio's newest release, The Year We Didn't Have, does, and the summery, almost dreamy songs do the opposite of what most indie music does these days – they leave you smiling.
The music is cute enough to make the album summery but not enough to make it cheesy. It's an electric balance between The Postal Service and Iron & Wine. The songs are slow enough to be relaxing but fast enough to be entertaining. They sound like I Can Make A Mess Like Nobody's Business, but even happier.
Then you add in Mike Aronow's lyrics and vocals, which range from almost too high to the perfect octave, and you've got the vocal range of She & Him with only the Him. The lyrics are smart and light - “What's the space between something you want and something you need?” from “From Here to Here is Here”. Even when he's not talking about something happy, Aronow manages to keep from sounding sad, such as “I remember you when we were young/before the angry words and slamming doors had yet begun” from “When We Were Young”.
You can tell The Goodbye Radio is sincere about their music just from listening to it, but if that's not enough for you, the entire album is free on their website.
Key Tracks: When We Were Young, Last Chase, Sweet Song
June 07, 2010
