Epicure - The GoodbyeGirl

Tue 30th Mar, 2004 in Music Reviews

‘The Goodbye Girl’ is the highly anticipated third album from Epicure.  Unless you have been hiding under a rock for the past 12 months, you would have heard the single ‘Armies Against Me’ that hit high rotation on Triple J and Channel V, and this single appears as the second song on the album after the title track.  With ‘Life Sentence’, that also made the Triple J Hottest 100, on the album, buyers already know two songs before the album is even released.  Epicure’s style is best described as indie alternative rock ballads, and ‘The Goodbye Girl’ shows off their talents beautifully.

The album begins with the title track ‘The Goodbye Girl’ which is a slower ballad in which lead singer Juan Alban sounds almost Daniel Johns-like in this melodic lyrical tune.  This type of song usually takes me a couple of listens to get into (ie when I can get to the point where I can sing along), and I am not sure that it was the best choice to open the album prior to Armies Against Me at number 2.  I can see this being the most skipped song on the album, not due to quality, but due to Armies Against Me being the song most listeners want to hear first.  But then again, maybe I am on my own in racing to Armies Against Me first.

The new single ‘Firing Squad’ comes next and this is where Epicure get to show off their slightly rockier side.  ‘So Broken’ is another rockier song and is my personal favourite on the album.  I found myself singing along to this guitar driven melodic beauty.

‘12 Months of Winter’ is another slower ballad where the same 8 line verse gets repeated three times.  I am not sure that this really works with a ballad where the lyrics can prove more important than the musical backing, and the listener is forced to stop and take notice of what is being sung.

‘Clay Pigeons’ is lyrically a wonderful song throughout its almost seven minutes of love lost.  If you like Epicure and this genre, then you will love this song.  ‘Self Destruction in 5’ reminds me of a Spoon song with the keyboard skills of Dean Shannon driving the sound.  Some of the focus is taken away from Alban here and placed on the musical backing. 

The rather self-pitying ‘No-One’s Listening’ gives Alban a chance to show off his stadium rock skills.  This number would not be out of place during an encore in front of 20,000 fans.  Time will tell whether Epicure will get the chance to belt out the song in such a surrounding.

‘The Goodbye Girl’ is a very good album that shows off the musical wares of Epicure, ranging from the very slow ballad to the up-tempo pop rock song.  This is a genre that appeals both to alternative and popular tastes, and with any decent rotation, should go a long way.