If you know me at all, you know that my first and only favorite band has always been the legendary Goldfinger. Their viciously passionate tunes are the primary reason I picked up my bass guitar or began compiling an arsenal of records. They’re a massive influence on my own art, and the gateway that got me into punk, ska, hardcore, metal—all of it.
But when they dropped The Knife this summer, their first record in nearly a decade, something held me back from running to the record store and grabbing a copy. Some trepidation, perhaps at their long hiatus or the apparent lineup upheaval, had me making excuses as to why I hadn’t heard a single song, let alone bought a copy. It was a full two months before curiosity got the best of me and I checked it out.
And as I should have known, Goldfinger always comes through for me.
The Knife is certainly not your standard Goldfinger record, but neither is it any less Goldfinger than I had hoped for. There are amazing dynamics across both the sound and the composition; the record opens with a punk ripper “A Million Miles,” followed by a too-danceable-for-its-own-good ska anthem “Get What I Need.” Goldfinger flaunts dynamics in the individual compositions as well, using quiet verses to amp heady choruses, juxtaposing grinding slash beats with insanely catchy pop hooks. The Knife ranges far in both genre and intensity, so that no matter what your stylistic preferences are, Goldfinger delivers hard.
But when they dropped The Knife this summer, their first record in nearly a decade, something held me back from running to the record store and grabbing a copy. Some trepidation, perhaps at their long hiatus or the apparent lineup upheaval, had me making excuses as to why I hadn’t heard a single song, let alone bought a copy. It was a full two months before curiosity got the best of me and I checked it out.
And as I should have known, Goldfinger always comes through for me.
The Knife is certainly not your standard Goldfinger record, but neither is it any less Goldfinger than I had hoped for. There are amazing dynamics across both the sound and the composition; the record opens with a punk ripper “A Million Miles,” followed by a too-danceable-for-its-own-good ska anthem “Get What I Need.” Goldfinger flaunts dynamics in the individual compositions as well, using quiet verses to amp heady choruses, juxtaposing grinding slash beats with insanely catchy pop hooks. The Knife ranges far in both genre and intensity, so that no matter what your stylistic preferences are, Goldfinger delivers hard.
If I’m being honest, one of the biggest worries my heart housed when this record was released had to do with the lineup changes. My heart holds endless room for the first two incarnations of Goldfinger, so when I heard that John was the only returning member for The Knife, I felt a little disheartened. To then learn that both Charlie Paulson and Darrin Pfeiffer had since cut off contact with John, and that Kelly Lemieux had left to play bass in Buckcherry of all acts, only served to deepen my depression about the whole affair. While I’ve always loved John Feldmann’s infectious songwriting and sincere energy, it was the band Goldfinger that I loved, not the name, and to think that it had become “the John show” left me feeling less than excited for the release of The Knife.
That said, when I finally gave it a shot, I was surprised to find that the new lineup carries this comprehensive and powerful collection of songs with ardor. Philip Sneed handles his guitar with skill and grace, his leads melding seamlessly with the rhythmic thrashing that John and bassist Mike Herrera set down. The drums are manned almost exclusively by none other than the pop-punk legend Travis Barker, though Twenty One Pilots’ Josh Dun also makes an appearance on “Orthodontist Girl.” In addition, The Knife is loaded with spots by guest musicians, many of whom apparently collaborated on writing, bringing fresh minds and voices to Goldfinger’s music.
Goldfinger can do virtually no wrong in my eyes, yet my one point of umbrage with them (or with John Feldmann) has always been the lyrics. As John puts it, most of his songs come in “explosive ideas” that are completed “in a half hour,” and rarely do those songs see a revision process. If he’s not singing strung-together clichés and idioms (such as “I took a stand, I made a choice / To take the road less traveled” in “Beacon”), often his lines somehow just barely manage to make grammatical sense (“Hold the knife / Away from me” in “Put the Knife Away”).
Still, it is important to note that many of the songs that appear on The Knife were not initially Goldfinger songs; John has stated that “I had a bunch of songs stockpiled that I thought were great, but which other artists didn’t think were appropriate for them.” Thus, John took tunes that might have been meant initially for more pop-driven or popular acts, and spun them into the honest, free, and oft-goofy pieces that have always defined Goldfinger’s catalog.
Despite John’s lackadaisical creation process, there is still a whole lot of substance to the songs that make up The Knife. John spends much of the record writing about his past from the perspective of the present, reminiscing on times good and bad and analyzing his relationships with family and friends. “Who’s Laughing Now” was apparently written about a “business relationship that went sour,” one that John “loved and cherished,” while “Tijuana Sunrise” describes his dangerous and debauched youth after his parents had “tossed [him] aside.” Similarly, “Get What I Need” wanders through the positive memories of John’s punk-rock youth, while the re-recorded “Am I Deaf” looks back on those same instances from the perspective of a 40-something family man trying to reconnect with his youth.
Still, it is important to note that many of the songs that appear on The Knife were not initially Goldfinger songs; John has stated that “I had a bunch of songs stockpiled that I thought were great, but which other artists didn’t think were appropriate for them.” Thus, John took tunes that might have been meant initially for more pop-driven or popular acts, and spun them into the honest, free, and oft-goofy pieces that have always defined Goldfinger’s catalog.
Despite John’s lackadaisical creation process, there is still a whole lot of substance to the songs that make up The Knife. John spends much of the record writing about his past from the perspective of the present, reminiscing on times good and bad and analyzing his relationships with family and friends. “Who’s Laughing Now” was apparently written about a “business relationship that went sour,” one that John “loved and cherished,” while “Tijuana Sunrise” describes his dangerous and debauched youth after his parents had “tossed [him] aside.” Similarly, “Get What I Need” wanders through the positive memories of John’s punk-rock youth, while the re-recorded “Am I Deaf” looks back on those same instances from the perspective of a 40-something family man trying to reconnect with his youth.
Though some substance may still be lacking, overall this record is insanely tasty, and I know without doubt this CD won’t be leaving my car’s rotation for a long time. The Knife gathers the iterations of Goldfinger’s past and brings them into a crisp and catchy present tense. John Feldmann knows that, despite the various changes that age and experience have brought, Goldfinger is still a huge part of his life, one that he’s “not ready to let go of yet.” And so I will not let go either, but instead revel in Goldfinger’s continued vitality and evolution in the same way a fourteen-year-old me did: with wide eyes and anxious ears.
Tunes to Check Out:
1) Get What I Need
3) A Million Miles
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