The Heligoats “Goodness Gracious” (Greyday Records, 2010)

Rising above the herd

Chris Otepka can certainly write a modern rock song and his voice isn’t bad either, the band he’s assembled for this release are drum tight, the Heligoats sure have a lot of good things going for them. The record starts strongly with ‘A Guide to the Outdoors’ which pummels Chris Martin into the dirt, sounding as it does like Coldplay on steroids after a few sessions at whiners anonymous. The songs pass pleasantly in that Snow Patrol kind of a way and to be fair there are plenty of hooks dangled as well as some swerves and stylistic changes, ‘Fish Sticks’ is a hyper-strum that picks up a lot of detritus on its way to its climax that resembles a bus load of skiffle colliding with the local power pop truck.

On the downside Otepka’s vocals and the general shape of the songs are all a bit too close to Clem Snide for me to be truly comfortable with, ‘Florida Panther’ carries the resemblance lightly as do most of the songs but it does nag away at me like a piece of coconut stuck between my teeth diluting the enjoyment. Some of the irritation passes; ‘Aquifer’ is an aural collage, a childhood memoir impressionistically constructed from wind chimes, waves, snatches of voices and drums that capture something innocent. ‘Heat Vents’ sounds like it was recorded live in the studio, it’s a breathless volley of words with furiously strummed guitar for company and as momentum builds and other instruments kick in it makes a giddy lo-fi noise that gleefully dismisses comparisons. The final song, ‘Goodness Gracious’ also flies by itself especially when lonesome piano joins the acoustic guitar and some treated guitar to add some subtle shading.

There’s a lot more to be liked and admired about these songs than there is to dismiss with comparisons, the songs contain enough evocative lyrics and musically descriptive passages to render a review stressing the Clem Snide angle as churlish. The Heligoats have been doing this for ten years and that experience is put to good use here.

Date review added:  Thursday, February 04, 2010
Reviewer:  David Cowling
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