This is the first single from the Goons’ second album I Hate My Hair And Want To Die, which carries on their very stripped back, garage band esq. sound but also happily maintains their supreme catchiness.
The Goons were never meant to be a band, they formed in 03 on the set of Ozzie Wrongs (aka Oscar Wright-lead singer) film Wasted Youth, about a group of surfers who form a band. This in turn sparked mass creativity and the immense urge to form a real band and The Goons of Doom were born.
Back to the song then. The band describes For A Girl as: “Man’s eternal search for peace within the confines of male-female bonds,” which is spot on, those 12 words some up the 4:27 song perfectly…. but is this a bad thing?
Should a song by a band that categorically don’t really give a fuck and totally don’t take themselves seriously (echo’s of Fingered springs to mind …”we got so high, ate some magic mushrooms and I swear I fingered you again..I swear I fingered you again..I swear I fingered you again..it was a weekend come-on,”) be so easily and so philosophically summed up?
In my honest opinion no and I am not contradicting my self. I do realise I earlier wrote that it maintains their supreme catchiness and it does, I stand by what I said. I first listened to For A Girl two days ago and yesterday I found myself humming the tune in the shower and I had it in my head all day, but this doesn’t mean the song is brilliant, its average at best.
The lyrics aren’t great ” I understand I shouldn’t smoke but I’m a smoking kind of bloke and promise not to choke I’m not from choking kind of folk,” is just one of the lines which don’t work, its almost child like rhyming.
I really hope this doesn’t showcase what is to come from the new album, a step back if you will. The Story Of Dead Barbie And Ghost was a fun mixture of 60s Britpunk, sometimes straight up punk and horror pop madness which worked so well. I just pray the Goons haven’t grown up too much and made a record of so-so poppy love songs.
Marc Ramage