With its gospel piano and gang-clapping, standout "Television" sounds like a demented church service — with words depicting spiritual confusion, a man having an existential argument with himself. But Skeptic Goodbye is tongue-in-cheek, even when it's tackling big questions. "Tell me, are you not the same as me?/Did you pay your dues in Little League?," Arnoudse asks during an inspired patchwork rant on "Three Car Garage." The mandolin-led "Who Knew" is soaked in adolescent regret and wasted dreams, even when Arnoudse refers to Back to the Future's Marty McFly.
But, at the end of the day, melody is most important. "I try to build from melody," Arnoudse says. "Because I really have only so many chords that I can play. I don't really gravitate toward music that's too complex." Although Skeptic Goodybe might not break new sonic ground, it demonstrates two minds unafraid to follow their unusual muses, prepared to ride those simple chords and hooks wherever they may lead. ^
YOU WON'T + SLOWDIM + FRIENDLY PEOPLE + THE SUITCASE JUNKET | T.T. the Bear's Place, 10 Brookline St Cambridge | February 16 @ 8:30 pm | 18+ | $8 | 617.492.0082 or ttthebears.com
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