Disco de Goldfinger: “Hello Destiny”

Goldfinger, is one of my (3) favorite bands of ALL times, (Rancid & Less Than Jake)...

Wow, Charlie is back and he let them put out this peice of work as a full length CD. I feel cheated, only 12 tracks. 12 is a lullaby, so it doesn't count and track 11 "Free Kevin Jonas" is an old track they just slapped on the end.

This should have been an EP.

"Get up" is AWESOME! that is about it. All down hill from there. It's like, they didn't want to be bothered with making a reel piece of work. I guess they just threw some tracks together to make a few bucks, they did not bother to put any quality in the song writing.

These days with the Pro-tools, anyone can make great sounding recordings, but we need more great music compositions... and, well, looks like John and the boys are getting lazy.

Maybe John just needs a nice, juicy, large double cheese burger to inspire his song writing again. Like the old days...

Save your money!

From a long time Goldfinger fan... Lil' Gleason

The Good

"One More Time" is instantly addictive and catchy with driving guitars and melodic vocals. "Get Up" infuses the brass section that ska is known for, but steel has a punk-pop feel to it. "Without Me" employs some killer guitar runs, and that's not something you expect from the ska/punk world. "If I'm Not Right" has a pure reggae feel with it's brass and steel drum backing. "How Do You Do It" is pure in-your-face guitar and vocal fury. Goldfinger keep the energy flowing on the media-bashing track "Not Amused."

The Bad

I understand the political nature of the lyrics, but "Handjobs for Jesus?" Please!

The Verdict

I know these punk/ska groups can be a dime a dozen, but Goldfinger is a little more than run-of-the-mill. Guitar solos, melodic vocals, and guitar riffage o'plenty really set them apart from their contemporaries. Hello Destiny is sure to be the most energetic and politically pondering 36 minutes of your life.

After Goldfinger's last two albums fell a little bit flat, feeling more like John Feldmann solo albums sometimes, this album is absolutely a treat for the ears. We see Goldfinger make a return to the old-school rock that made them popular, and while they've still retained some of the musicality from the last two albums, it doesn't make this album that much more the worse. If you liked old Goldfinger, you owe it to yourself to give this one a try.

There are a few tracks, such as "One More Time" and "Free Kevin Kjonaas", that feel a bit phoned in, but to be frank, even the worst on this album outstrips many tracks on

, notably the entire second half of that album. Other tracks bring forth some above-average Goldfinger rock, such as "Goodbye"; this tracks seem to be most representative of the work on this album. You'll find them enjoyable, and while enjoyable doesn't do much for music on the whole, it's still fun and perfectly acceptable by my standards. Then there's an obligatory soldier's-point-of-view war song, "War", which isn't too bad but feels preachy, and a couple more-upbeat songs, "The Only One" and "How Do You Do It", which are less rocking but again, enjoyable (see above).

On the other hand, this time around Goldfinger really pounds out some fantastic tracks, better than they've done for years. "Without Me" starts off normal but soon becomes a very well-done song, definitely worthy of your listening time. "Get Up", the first ska track encountered on this album, is a delightful explosion of rock and melody that you'll become addicted to, while "Not Amused" is fast, ferocious and fantastic. "Bury Me" starts out a little unusual, but seriously grows on you; it sounds unlike things Goldfinger has done, and shows true originality that fills me to the brim with hope for future endeavors.

The biggest surprise? "Handjobs for Jesus", a song that came entirely out of left field. Questioning religious dogma and fundamentalism, this track experiments with musical styles, tempos, intensity, and all sorts of things; this potpourri of musical styles could easily have gone sour, but the end result is nothing short of extraordinary. This has to be one of my favorite Goldfinger songs.

This CD is a bit on the short side, clocking in at about 36 minutes, but at $9.99 it's still a fantastic buy. This is not the Goldfinger we heard back in 2005; this is a new and revitalized Goldfinger ready to kick punk/ska music in the pants, and I can only hope they continue in this direction. If you love Goldfinger, you need to get this album; you won't regret it.