Saturday, November 08, 2025

Goin' Places - Imperfect


Back with their first new album in four-and-a-half years, Staten Island's finest have delivered the absolutely terrific Imperfect. With their first two albums, Girl Songwriting 101 and Relationship Sneakers, Goin' Places helped define the post-millennial era of underground pop-punk. Then on 2021's Save the World, Richie, Victor, and Frank demonstrated how pop-punk band can grow up but still sound like pop-punk. Out on the home of the hits, Mom's Basement Records, Imperfect finds the trio continuing to live by the motto of "give them what they want, but keep them guessing." 

I can't imagine any Goin' Places fan being disappointed in Imperfect. The album finds the band still leaning on its love of harmonies, songs about girls, and '90s pop-punk by way of early rock 'n' roll. Songs like "Let's Go to the Beach," "Laundry Girl," "The Girl with the Eyes," and "TV Girl" bring a sound that will be familiar and comforting to anyone who has enjoyed the band's previous releases. But at least half this record finds the trio thinking outside the pop-punk box. The melancholy, dramatic pop of "Never Again" is a clean break from punk rock. "The Next Wake" is a genuine ballad and a good one at that. And even some of the songs that still sound fundamentally like Goin' Places find the band taking a surprisingly deep lyrical direction. "In My Mind" is a reflection on mental health struggles and the difficulties of just making it through each day. "The Times" is literally about the utterly messed-up times we live in. "Beautiful" and "Imperfect" are linked songs. One ponders the superficiality of infatuation, while the other examines how real adult love thrives when two people embrace each other's imperfections. "Home Depot Daze" seems like it's going to be a silly song but ends up being a meditation on the never-ending pressures of adulting. 

Every pop-punk band that makes it past an album or two has to figure out a plan for longevity. Do you just keep on doing the same thing and hope that no one gets tired of it? Do you break new ground and hope your fans come along for the ride? That's an even taller order when you've been in the game for a quarter-century. But Goin' Places seem to have found the secret sauce. The band is serving musical comfort food without letting the recipes get stale, mixing in its more serious side without taking away all the fun. Covers of Chuck Berry and Beethoven (see what they did there?) are icing on the cake. While most people think of Goin' Places as "that girl song band," the real heart and soul of its music are those timeless melodies and harmonies which draw from the last 70 years of rock 'n' roll. Save the World left me wanting more from this band, and Imperfect absolutely does the same. Hit up Mom's Basement Records to order an LP or CD! 

Posted by at
Labels: , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)