EP Review: Goodbye, Labrador – A Thousand Times Before

Goodbye, Labrador return with their second EP since their self-titled release in 2010. The rock quartet are made up of Martin Pípal (guitar, vocals), Phil Gold (guitar, percussion, vocals), Gonçalo Hipolito Martins (bass, vocals), and J. M. Silverman (drums, percussion). The band is currently based in Brooklyn and cites 80s punk and the art-rock of the 90s as their influences. Formed in 2008, Goodbye, Labrador began recording demos and relocating themselves in an effort to form the rock band they had always dreamed of. After releasing their début EP, they toured North America and Europe before returning to a studio in Portugal to begin working on this follow up.

Throughout A Thousand Times Before, Goodbye, Labrador demonstrates a great command of their instruments and vocal harmonies. Opening track ‘Intrepid’ is a three-minute burst of rock melodies and great guitar riffs. Their energetic style of propulsive indie-punk/rock is all over the first couple of tracks, and things nicely slow down a bit for the stand-out track ‘Memoir’. Tinged with nostalgia and sadness, the EP closes strongly with this song which the band is currently offering as a free download on their SoundCloud page.

Unfortunately between tracks three and five things get a little repetitive and there are few notable moments. While repeated listens help reveal the nuance and precision of this talented quartet’s style, the song-writing suffers a little bit from its sameness. There are not that many memorable moments, and you can’t help but think the band could have taken a few more risks considering they claim 90s art-rock and 80s punk as their main influences.

Overall though, the EP is pretty well executed and features at least three great songs. Fans of the genre should definitely consider checking them out further. The EP is embedded below for streaming.

Go Get It: ’Sirens’ / ‘Memoir’
Forget It: ’Falling Away’

A Thousand Times Before is currently available on Amazon and iTunes.

http://soundcloud.com/goodbye-labrador/sets/a-thousand-times-before/