mr goodnight
Reviewed by Chelsea Sinnott
Published: 15 April 2010
ep: self titled
I had never heard of Mr Goodnight before their CD came up on the reviews list recently. Usually I have even a fledgling insight into what a band sounds like, but not on this occasion, and boy howdy was I pleasantly surprised.
My Goodnight are making music that is doing big things on the East Coast, but no so much in Adelaide. It’s smooth, funky lounge jazz that is seductively easy to listen to, yet it’s still interesting. It’s really accessible live and recorded, and there is a lot of really quality music out there in bands like Miguel and The Rooftops. To a certain extent it’s in the same vein as Goose, but Mr Goodnight is very stripped back in comparison.
The opening track ‘Can You Feel It’ features some fantastic guitar lines and beautiful percussion. The vocals are lost in the recording though and the chorus sounds very distant in comparison to the rest of the track. ‘Get Down’ shows some funky percussive horn work which immediately sets the town of the track, followed by a smooth and seductive vocal melody and the light hearted snap of the snare. This track is a much better recording than the first and has the fun jazz funk flair of a Jamiroquai track.
Middle track ‘Look Around’ is a fuzzy synth pop number which features vocalist Christian Oliver and some pretty sexy wah guitar form Quentin Angas. There are some cool vocal harmonies on this track, but eventually it ends up a little too sugary.
‘Next To You’ has a promising intro with a really interesting sax line, layered with some funky organ and percussion. The bridge and chorus are standard though and there isn’t a lot else spectacular about the track. The final track on the EP is called ‘Not Gonna Let You Go’ and for the first time Marty Holoubek gets to show off some of his bass lines, which are the star of this song.
Mr Goodnight have been able to record something that’s really ‘nice’. It’s smooth and easy to get into. The self titled EP draws from pop, lounge, funk, jazz and rock, but there’s nothing dangerous or edgy here. If you are looking for a really relaxing collection of songs to wind down to on a Sunday afternoon, this is for you.
