reviews

the noise

matthew s. robinson

opening with a meatloafy piano pounding, the goh boys (jay hagenbuch, vocals, piano and bass; chris harris, vocals, percussion, horns and reeds) quickly fall into their fishy two-part harmonies with the light island breezer "it's finally over." next comes the strummy "satellite," featuring a south of the border trumpet line and a bouncy rhythm throughout. though nearly all goh tunes are quirky and somewhat novel, "chopping block" is the most TMBG in its, "wipeout"-paced repetitive madness of the line "his head was on the chopping block / i never meant to cut it off / i never meant to dislocate / i only meant to shape." "gi joe" tells the sad story of a discarded "collectible" as it awaits the next yard sale with its dated plastic friends. of all the songs on this album, "lucky" is the most well-arranged and seriously conceived, with two-part horns and a steady rhythm. though the vocals are a bit flat and the background yelling is a tad grating, the provocative lyrics and clever changes keep the song interesting. lastly comes the very copyable "answering machine," a mini ditty which would probably lead friends (and others) to call just to tap along to the song.

***