What do you get when you cross Pat Wilson of Weezer fame and Atom Willard of Rocket From The Crypt and now The Offspring fame? Well, what you get is this interesting side-project, The Special Goodness, who play a brand of alternative rock not too far away from Mr Wilson’s full-time band. However, if you were to classify The Special Goodness as an inferior version of Weezer, you would be doing this duo of drummers a great deal of disservice.
‘Land, Air, Sea’ draws you in with it’s charms from the onset. A big aid to this process is the DIY nature of the albums recording. The fact the album was recorded on two-inch tape gives it a homely, less than polished feel, and this is something that is very welcome in this age of over-production. As Pat Wilson himself says of the album: "Land, Air, Sea was recorded old school onto two inch analogue tape. It's the sound of people playing melodic, musical songs without a lot of b.s.. It's warm, heartfelt music." And indeed it is. If ever there was a cure for the winter blues, it’s a poppy, hook-filled album like this.
Wilson and Willard take us on a twelve track journey of solid and enjoyable songs that showcase the musical talents of the duo. Wilson becomes a very accomplished front man and Willard provides his usual flair with the sticks. The album kicks off with ‘You Know I’d like’, which proves to be a warm and melodic opener for what is to follow. It is on the second track ‘Life Goes By’ that the album really begins to deliver. The track is based around one big guitar riff and is akin to early Foo Fighters material. It has a feel good factor that literally jumps from your stereo. The band reach this level again on the superb ‘Oops’, another track that is built around a big, infectious guitar riff. Its not all punk-lite material though, The Special Goodness are also capable of turning the volume down and letting their song writing speak for itself. One of the better examples of this is ‘Pardon Me’. If there is any fault with the album, it is that occasionally the lyrics can be a little on the weak side (‘Day in the Autumn’), but on the whole it doesn’t detract from the overall feel of the album
With ‘Land, Air, Sea’ The Special Goodness have crafted a well-balanced and well-written album. If you like heartfelt melodic pop/rock then chances are you are going to love this. Not bad work for a couple of drummers is it!
Mark
