REVIEW: Goodman - What We Want

Goodman is Michael Goodman, a New York-based artist playing some terrific power-pop. On his recent release, What We Want, sometimes I'm reminded of Cheap Trick, sometimes Fountain of Wayne, and sometimes of slower and sadder stuff, maybe some Beach Boys ballads. The music is meticulously put together, all the parts in service of the whole sound - whether fast and catchy or slow and melancholy.

Here is the lead track (and the single, if I had to pick), "Night Person". It's upbeat, catchy and the vocal harmonies are right-on:

Another of my favorites (you see, I much prefer the upbeat stuff, even thought it's all got some melancholy behind it) is "Another Man":

 

And, to show you the slower side, here is "Yawning" - Goodman's got a really good grasp of all kinds of pop hooks. This one's got some swing, almost kind of doo-wop:

The record is out now, and well worth checking out. You can buy it at the Soundcloud via the links above, or at Bandcamp.