THE GOODNIGHTS- Coming Back CD-EP

Wasting no time, The Goodnights have returned to the studio and laid down three further tracks to follow-up the trio of excellence that made up the previous EP - and they do not disappoint!!
First off is "Coming Back" which firmly stamps their mark of quality on the proceedings with a strong yet heartfelt vari-paced anthem to match some of the best indfie-rock ballads around by many a more famous band. Opening with lightly strummed acoustic guitar and echoey lead vocals, there's an immediate warmth, which is given strength as the band comes in with some tasty drumming, ripling piano and deep bass undercurrents. Above what is now a quite exotic backing, the vocals soar forwards in gorgeous fashion, the brief harmonies adding the icing on the cake as the tracks twists and turns. A delightful electric guitar lead rings out above the solid piano backdrop as the track lifts off, that addictive chorus swirls around your head and the whole thing becomes inexorably part of you, as you're sitting there subconsciously singing along at the top of your voice. Yet its arrangement manages to put so much variation into its three or so minutes without sacrificing any of the wondrous emotion that makes it such a strong and well delivered song, by anyone's standards.
"Cold Outside" opens with lilting piano and right from the start you just know this is going to be a ballad with more emotion in it than a Barbara Cartland novel. You'd be right too. The vocal has an aching sense of yearning to it as the lyrically thoughtful song emerges, the band providing a slow river of dreams with delicate drum work, deep bass, a river of electronic sounding undercurrents and almost glissando-like backdrops. The song gradually strengthens as the vocal becomes ever more optimistic, sung to perfection and played superbly. Slowly it climbs, gathering intensity as the instrumental density is piled on and th guitars, piano, drums and bass just drive into view and take to the skies, the vocal soaring high above it all and truly spellbinding. Then it starts the slow drop back down to earth on chiming notes of electric guitar, those wondrously lurching slow rhythms and eventually ending with its feet firmly but lightly on the ground. Quite gorgeous and absolutely sublime.
To show that they also possess what it takes to be a good-time band, they end with "Nothing To Hide", the strident march of the rhythm section proving a welcome contrast to the preceding pace, while the guitar rings out and comes to life as the track drives forward and another excellently sung vocal soars out, the piano sounding like its being played with lead-lined gloves, solid yet still delicate, while the band really crunch. Mid-way, it drops down to a brief rest, before takinjg off once again as the guitar work sizzles and the vocalrise and fall, conveying the trademark emotion of before but with an aded strength that shines through. The band riff and roll their brief way to the final bars and then it's over - another gem of a song from a band who clearly know how to play and compose quality tracks with a capital "Q".

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