Cougar Microbes are marching in like army ants…

Yoni Gordon and The Goods‘ latest album ‘Turning Chaos Into A Career‘ has had me returning for repeated listens above and beyond the call of duty. The passionate frontman and his gang showcase a comprehensive set of songs and an album that doesn’t lag at any stage.

The band are frequently accosted to ‘Ted Leo & The Pharmacists‘ and I can see where this comparison comes from but with this release they may break out of  this shadow. It is more likely that aspiring to recreate the sentiments of his heroes, namely Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Costello, has seen Yoni expand his horizons. This is immediately noticeable with upbeat opener ‘Dead But Not Forgotten‘ with its ambitious structure and inclusion of organs and bells as well as a full on campfire worthy clap and chant ending.

Yoni‘s nasal voice, slightly reminiscent of Ben Weasel from Screeching Weasel, is certainly an acquired taste but serves as a reminder that the band’s roots were planted in the punk movement. However, the introduction of folk and dub elements give these tracks an inventive spark and moves them beyond their original scope.

The title track as well as ‘His Nation in Decline‘ and ‘Test Of Time‘ take on this mantra introducing syncopated verses and memorable guitar riffs that are as good as anything Bedouin Soundclash, The Dead 60′s and other Clash disciples have released in recent years. Besides, even when the band return to a tried and tested “punk and roll” formula on a couple of moments it is done with enough enthusiasm and lyrical wit to keep it from sounding generic.

‘Polish Hill‘ is a slow building mix of  violins, accordions, big bass drums and lightly strummed guitars that grows into a wonderful folk crescendo.  The track was a brave inclusion on the album and is the bands most challenging moment. It is a sweeping tribute (I presume) to Polish Hill in his native New York and comes close to recreating Springsteen‘s idealist observation of every day people and forays into Americana.  This was a risky inclusion as it could have looked out of place next to the rest of the tracks but ultimately the common lyrical theme links it with the rest of the album seamlessly.

Tracks like ‘Army Time Is Over‘ and ‘Election Year (2008)‘  inject a dose of politics next to the ever present social consciousness theme. These topics are clearly important to Yoni and he is ably expresses his views clearly without shoving them down the listeners throat leaving the lasting impression of a passionate young man who wears his heart on his sleeves.

When I first listened to Yoni Gordon & The Goods I didn’t imagine it would make such a lasting impression on me. Gradually after repeated listens the album has grown on me and could merit a surprise inclusion on my Best Of 2009 list. ‘Turning Chaos Into A Career‘ is a rough diamond in amongst 2009 more prominent releases.

TRACKS:

Yoni Gordon and The Goods -Dead But Not Forgotten

Mark from Fried My Little Brain has launched a new section on his personal website dedicated to sharing inspiring links “ranging from design, art, products, videos, and anything else in between“. He has already included a host of great finds and I am delighted he featured Cougar Microbes Photography in one of the first posts.

Check it out here and tell him I sent you.

The first time I watched ‘The Future Is Unwritten‘ was in a jam-packed cinema in November last year. The Joe Strummer documentary/biopic had just been released and watching it with a large enthusiastic audience added a quasi-religious feel to the event. They sang along to every song and marvelled as a series of respected friends, contemporaries and fans highlighted The Clash‘s talent and Joe Strummer‘s influence.

Though I was too young when The Clash were in their heyday I did manage to catch a set by The Mescaleros back in 97. It was raining like there was no tomorrow and we were huddled around my shitty car’s dashboard trying to get some heat into our bones at what could only be described as a festival gone wrong. We suddenly heard a loud roar as the opening chords for ‘Rudie Can’t Fail‘ played over the huge muddy field. I turned to my shivering comrade friend and said: “you realise we are missing out on an absolute legend here” and without another word we simultaneously jumped out of the car and splashed towards the stage.

Last week ‘The Future Is Unwritten‘ was shown for the first time on British terrestrial TV. Watching it again reminded me of that initial movie-going experience and how The Clash‘s music lives on through the years. Though the documentary occasionally resorts to what is unabashedly idolisation for Strummer this is suitably augmented with footage and tales where Joe Strummer the man doesn’t quite match up to Joe Strummer the myth. Ultimately Strummer comes across as a passionate, and sometimes difficult, man whose heart is true to his beliefs.

There is a scene in the movie where Joe Strummer is handing out flyers to try and entice passers-bye to come see The Mescaleros live performance somewhere in the USA . This man had played stadiums not so long ago, he is a living legend for fuck sakes! Yet he was promoting his show like a budding artist at the first ropes. There was no ego, there was no entourage. It was just Joe Strummer trying to build a crowd to see him doing what he did best, standing on stage and giving 110%

That night in 1997 we drove back in our boxer shorts because our clothes were completely soaked but we had the sweet sound of ‘London Calling‘ ringing in our ears. Epic.

RIP Joe!