Goolagoon – “Patrickviolence Demo”
Powerviolence, or Power Violence, is a raw and dissonant sub-genre of hardcore punk. This style is closely related to thrashcore and grindcore. Listening to it for any length of time may cause melt-age of the brain and yellow pus dripping out of both sides of your ears causing unseemly spots on your neatly attired summer wear or leisure outfits. In case of overdose call your doctor and take two heaping doses of love.
Now, that we have a better understanding of the music that Goolagoon plays, let’s further dissect the many subtle nuances of their album.
All of the songs start out with a Sponge Bob sample and then they move into short, abrasive, wild tunes that are “F.U.N.” which is our first selection.
After a philosophical discourse on what constitutes fun, the guitars come charging in like a parade of bulls on mescaline in Spain with the drum beat whipping them on. “No aspirations/ No eyes ahead/ Fuck around, fuck up instead.” The guitars disintegrate space and squeal with delight, gliding through the solar system as the vocals exhort and attempt to blow a blood vessel, the bass chugging and clubbing along. This song appears to be about wasting time on college instead of preparing to be in hock to the government for the rest of your years. The music congeals into one gigantic slab of noise, then dirges into a doom-y dance toward obliteration. Hey, that may not sound like fun to you but this song sure sounds like fun to me-and it is.
Goo Lagoon is a popular underwater beach in Bikini Bottom on the animated television series, Spongebob Squarepants. It’s also the name of a hardcore/punk band from Western Mass who play music that will blow the top of your head off (it did mine) with its energy, aggressiveness and creativity all topped with huge dollops of fun, much like sour cream poured on a plate of simmering, hot nachos.
“Boots on feet, all feed you kinds/ Gargled brains with open minds/ This fucking fad is grinding heads/ These fronts are not your friends.” “Patrickviolence”, after the obligatory Sponge Bob sample and some dissonant guitar chard’s stuck into your head, explodes with sound and vocals only to be tamed down into a grinding, garage three chord stomp. This alternates with the tornado like verse until we get to the one time chorus. “Teach me about myself/ I am, everyone else.” Short, hard, oblique and reminding me of an old, great punk band- Wire.
Did I tell you there’s a girl singing these songs? Yes, dainty Miss Lilly- another woman showing that they don’t do as well as the boys, they do better. And did I mention the guitar player, Jake, is from that excellent, young hardcore band Red Tape? Well, if you don’t know I’m not gonna tell ya!
After Sponge Bob and four knocks by the drummer we’re into another mellow 70’s influenced tune. “Rolling through your fucking town/ Studded jackets, perma-frowns/ Pick it up before it’s gone/ Memorize and sing a long.” “Snowball Effect” is another bulldozer on crank, pulverizing wave of sonic boom crashing, take no prisoners, destruction of all forms of life, song. It slows down for a metal sounding groove in the middle, completing the cycle with a headlong rush to extinction. A potent, powerful song.
Goolagoon seems to be a hardcore band with metal influences, some doom and verging on grindcore with their harsh, experimental sound. I think this is a great musical area to be in, not being weighed down by the metal side but still bringing in it’s aggression and abrasiveness, and finding themselves in a place where I see all the best new bands designing new residences to live in- right smack dab in the center of punk, metal and hardcore; influenced by all but allegiance to none. Oh, and fun!
I haven’t seen them live, not even sure who told me to check them out. And though I have yet to watch an episode of Sponge Bob I now….probably still won’t but I’m looking forward to someday checking these guys out.
Oh, and with all this mention of “fastcore”, power violence and grindcore in their description, there was “surf punk” in there as well.
“Goo Lagoon” is a surf instrumental such as groups like The Ventures played in the sixties while everyone, boys and girls alike, were dancing in bikinis, on the beach, while bands with electric guitars, that were solar powered, had a hootenanny. Though this tune sounds more like The Cramps then those bands back at the beach. I like this tune a lot but then I always was a sucker for surf music. And you’ll be a bigger sucker than me, if that’s even possible, if you don’t check Goolagoon out.
SURF’S UP AND I’M OUT.
(Slimedog)
