Album Review: The Gooch Palms - III

The Gooch Palms’ third album provides fans with more of the band's spirited brand of fun, but doesn’t take many steps to stand out from the rest of their discography.

Today’s The Day opens with their classic fuzzy guitar and two-piece drumkit combo. Coast To Coast and Are We Wasted? pump the album up a small dose, but Yeh Nah drops it back again, blending acoustic guitar and drum machine for an apathetic ballad.

Added background elements, like additional guitar parts in Burnout and continued drum machine in Marfa Lights, show that The Gooch Palms aren’t too afraid of branching out - they just seem to prefer to stick to their roots.

When I Was A Kid, Summertime and New Phone Who Dis? explore the familiar skate and surf punk that have moulded The Gooch Palms' sound, but if it weren’t for the shapeshifting background synth and chorus-drenched guitars in closing track I Get Out, this album would’ve struck on the margin. It’s sad to say, but there is definitely room for improvement for upcoming releases.