Goodshirt - Fiji Baby

Thu 30th Sep, 2004 in Music Reviews

You’ve gotta like an album that takes you on a journey. Songs that make you feel like you’re on a road trip…or dreaming away on a tropical island…or… hang on a minute… back to reality….

The opening moments on the first track of Goodshirt’s new album, Fiji Baby, create an aloha atmosphere that could well be the soundtrack to a Quentin Tarantino movie. There is chatter, and electro-swirling, and bubbles, and train-like chugging, and then the song comes in. This mid 90’s aloha intro suggests the beginning of an interesting story. And so Goodshirt proceed to tell us a few stories. Or, as the lyrics put it, “I’ve run out of stories to tell you, I’ll have to make them up”. And so it goes…

Fiji Baby is a collection of 11 electro-rock tracks with catchy hooks, and sweet pop melodies. The songs are uniquely structured and are given particular character by the looping and synth programming at the beginning, end, and middle of almost every song. There are several rockin tracks such as the first one, Not That Far, which has happy wah-wah electric guitars throughout, and is about relationships. Then there is Cement, which has the non-thrashy, pop-punk sing-along chorus of “on and on and on and on…” Track 3, Buck It Up, is a cross between the sounds of Supergrass and Regurgitator, and is a fun, summer track about kissing. Lucy is an upbeat pop song with psychedelic, swirling guitars and a carefree nature. The last song on the album is the title track, Fiji Baby. The song was inspired by a drive to the not-so-picturesque city of Hamilton in New Zealand, where lead vocalist Rodney suggested to his girlfriend that they pretend they were on a holiday to Fiji. The result is a beautiful song, accompanied by soft, shaky percussion and acoustic strumming, and is about travelling with loved ones. The lyrics suggest that “It is not a race”, which is a fitting end to an album that takes it’s time and does not rush through tracks. However in saying that, the album is only 37 minutes long.

Now while Goodshirt have so far taken us on an uplifting holiday, they do not forget about the moments where you drift off out the car window, lost in the world and your own thoughts. Throughout Fiji Baby, there are gentle moments of reflection and the subconscious world too. How Will I See You has stoned and prominent vocals reminiscent of Dandy Warhols, and is interspersed with galaxy soaring electronics and simple instrumental sounds. The following song, Cold Body Blues, begins with a plodding, childlike xylophone and a low reverberation on the drum beats. It has a tinkering, Radiohead kind of eccentricity which lulls you into a weird dream-like subconscious. The slow organ sounds in track 10, Fall, are almost like an out-of-body experience, or a visit to the past.

The highlight track on this album is My Racing Head. With its country twang and acoustic strumming, I envisage bodies swaying in unison as well as a big sing-along to the very relatable lyrics, “I feel like I’m already high”.

Goodshirt have produced an album full of happy, dreamy moments, and a warm sound that is slightly like The Beatles at times. Fiji Baby is interesting and diverse, and like any good story, takes the listener on a journey. When the journey ends and the album finishes, the listener (or at least this reviewer), is satisfied and smiling.