Review - Gozer Goodspeed, Rattlebone Colour

Steve Taylor-Bryant gets up to speed with Gozer Goodspeed's upcoming EP, Rattlebone Colour...



It’s not often I get sent an album by an artist I admire, it's less often that I thoroughly enjoy myself whilst listening to something new, something I haven’t sought out, something I probably wouldn’t have bought if I didn’t have a relationship with the artist in question. I am an online friend of Gozer Goodspeed, I find him witty and good company, but I don’t however extend friendship into my reviews and the lyrical waxing that follows would be the same if I didn’t know Mr. Goodspeed.



You must own this E.P!



What? Oh you need more. Okay then.



It’s a short four track acoustic blend of goodness that tickles every part of my musical tickly bits. From the opening, and title track, Rattlebone Colour I was immediately transported back in time to a period of cowboys, of Lou Diamond Phillips films. It is very Western in its feel, not Country and Western though, it evokes cowboys and happy memories of simpler times. It is fireside music, I can imagine being sat around a burning mass of twigs in desert with Gozer Goodspeed entertaining campers with his guitar and bluesy voice. It just makes me smile. It hurts my face from the smiling. Colour has most definitely been washed over me tonight.



Raise & Not Lose is my favourite track on the E.P. It reminds me of the first time I discovered The Stereophonics. It has the beautiful voice, it has the catchy chorus of repeated lines and it has a genuine writing quality about it sadly missing in modern music. It is an ear worm of a track, one I found myself singing aloud at work, which was quite embarrassing as I have not ever been equipped with a singing voice. I just hope my colleagues search out the song themselves and don’t judge it by my rendition. It really is a glorious song.



Ear to the Ground is another catchy song that is Dylan-esque in its delivery. It has some wonderful high harmony moments and is lyrically definitely worth a listen.



Man with the Ruined Knee rounds off an excellent collection with some echo filled blues singing that just hits the spot perfectly. Slower in pace than its predecessors, it still packs as much as a punch and is a perfect way to end the recording.



Four songs, all different in style and yet familiar and complimentary to each other. There is some fantastic guitar work throughout that shows Gozer Goodspeed is more than just a voice and the production values are spot on. There are more harmonies throughout the four songs than most music you will listen to today but at no point was it too much, it really adds to the listen. Lyrically the E.P is superb. Each song tells a story and is backed by a man with the perfect voice to tell the tale.



I demand a full album immediately!

Image - Gozer Goodspeed

The Rattlebone Colour EP is officially released 12 August on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Google Play and other platforms.