The supergroup is not a foreign concept around these parts; it seems every other week, there’s another band to file under the “Featuring Members Of” category. (The Goons’ debut features members of The Glands, Marshmallow Coast, The Olivia Tremor Control, Casper & the Cookies and more.)
Glands fans, in particular, will delight in The Goons‘ understated sharpness. “Friends and Lovers” is a three-minute exercise in pop pleasure, warm and casually instinctive and bearing shades of Yo La Tengo, Real Estate and Elf Power. “Anything” is a successful rocker, a washed out and road-weary track.
That The Goons manages to avoid falling into muddled chaos is a testament to those involved, and in fact, the album is very well formed—the work of a steady and singular ensemble.
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