Goldfinger

July 18 - 25, 1 9 9 6 [Off the Record]

*1/2 Goldfinger

GOLDFINGER

(Mojo)

The line "I feel like I'm writing the same thing again" (from "Nothing To Prove") epitomizes my feelings on Goldfinger's debut. I feel like I'm hearing the same thing again: catchy pop songs played with punk abandon. Setting aside the Green Day scale (my fictional scale that measures how closely each new "pop-punk" outfit sounds like Green Day), I'm left with comparing bands like Everclear and Goldfinger to each other.

Goldfinger, by flavoring their pop-punk assault with ska, rank among the most creative; their caffeinated pop tunes benefit immensely from their Two-Tone influence. And no one can deny that "Here in your Bedroom," with its muted looping intro and power-chord showers, is an FM gem -- but do we need five other similar songs? The band's attempt to break up the album's monotony by throwing in the mid-tempo "King for a Day," a delicate reggae-ish tune with a warm understated bass line and festive horn arrangement, is misdirected when the song climaxes to breakneck pace and disappears into the general homogeneity. The playing is stiff and calculated, like studio musicians playing in the "style of . . ." rather than punkers bashing the shit out of their instruments. All in all, Goldfinger will keep your toe tapping while you twiddle your thumbs.

-- Lorne Behrman