by Benji Heywood (@benjiheywood)
Goon is the long-running project of LA-based musician Kenny Becker. Since 2016’s Dusk of Punk, Goon have been releasing quirky bedroom indie rock to local acclaim. Though the band had a brief tenure on venerable indie-major Partisan Records, with an unspoken hope of Goon arriving on a summer festival stage near you. Goon however, has always felt like an intimate affair, meant to be listened to on headphones on a hike in Angeles Forest, or late at night on a walk around a reservoir lit only by Los Angeles’ famed art deco street lamps.
Much of the intimacy Becker shared with his audience on Goon classics like “Dizzy” and “She” was noticeably absent on Goon’s debut for Partisan, Heaven Is Humming, a consequence Becker chalks up to spending “way too long on the first album trying to get it perfect.” The release of Heaven provided the band minimal opportunity. Ultimately, Goon parted ways with its label as members started to drift away into an orbit of careers and family. In other words, Goon grew up.
Where countless bands have disbanded under the strain of a disappointing debut, Goon have done just the opposite. Becker remade the band with new members and recorded Paint By Numbers, Vol. 1, the most cohesive, enjoyable Goon release to date. Made in the style of early Goon – on a tape machine in Becker’s apartment and at the band’s rehearsal space – PBN1 may harken back to Goon’s developmental phase in spirit, but the songs are the most forward-thinking and expansive of the band’s career.
After years of hard work – including a decisively brilliant turn as producer for fellow LA indie pop band SLUGS – Becker’s skills as an engineer and mixer have matured, sonically elevating this EP far above (excuse the pun) paint-by-numbers bedroom indie pop. Think the best moments of Sparklehorse rather than pre-fame Kurt Vile. Goon’s musical menagerie glitters like palm fronds in the LA sun; the guitars are warm and bright, the drums roomy and welcoming, and Becker’s voice – often little more than a hushed and melodious coo – sits front and center, as if he were whispering into your ear.
The technical proficiency of the songwriting has also improved. Goon’s music has ever felt instantly familiar, like speaking to an old friend after a long absence, and as such, pleasing to listen to at first blush. That hasn’t changed. The first two songs on the EP, “Garden of Our Neighbor” and “Fruiting Body” are the type of songs you can expect to enjoy immediately; they require little more than two earholes and a heart. What is new is the budding complexity of Becker’s chord structures. Sure, there were hints at Figure 8 era Elliott Smith on Goon tunes before, but never the playful embrace of things that don’t traditionally go together, whether it be the half-step note pitched in the chorus melody of “Fruiting Body” or the simmering menace of “Hi from Beyond,” which sounds like it could be a From a Basement on the Hill outtake.
It’s not so much that this new Goon is an Elliott Smith redux, rather that the band is now comfortably and wonderfully continuing the pantheon of Los Angeles indie rock at the turn of the century. Whether it be late-era Elliott Smith or The Ship Collective’s 2000s output, Goon’s refreshing sound is one largely eschewed by the facsimiles of Arcade Fire and the Killers the LA scene produced ad nauseam in the 2010s. It’s a welcome departure from even Goon’s own earlier work, incorrectly labeled “grunge” due to their scuzzy guitars and occasional soft/loud dynamics.
Goon are much more than a “vibe” band. They’re a band with an identifiable voice making indie rock that’s built for a wider audience. Hopefully, this EP begins a much-deserved trend of reaching that goal. Goon’s second LP, Hour of Green Evening arrives later this year, and if this first EP is any indication, Goon’s next act is promising. There’s always been an incredible band here – just see them live and you’ll agree – but Becker and Co. have finally figured out the proper translation on album.