Goddamnit Pumps Out Some Punk and Post Hardcore Tunes on New Album All This Time Is Yours Now
4.5 out of 5 stars
As a very picky listener when it comes to hardcore and post hardcore bands, I can never quite place my finger on why I like certain bands more than others in these genres. It’s a mystery to even me.
For example, I am only a moderate fan of Hot Water Music, but I still think they make good music.
So, it’s hard to know exactly where to rank Philly punk band Goddamnit in my brain, but I DO know that I like their band.
They have a lot of similarities to bands like Hot Water Music and Quicksand which aren’t necessarily bands I listen to a lot, but I can say that Goddamnit’s new album All This Time Is Yours Now is right up there with the best of the bunch in the post hardcore scene.
Personally, I am digging the record more and more as I listen to it.
I think one thing that can always throw people off – especially those like myself who like melodic vocals – is a gruff-sounding vocalist, but in some bands it works really well. I think Goddamnit is one of those bands who make it work.
Vocalist Arik Victor finds a way to use his hefty voice to burst through anthemic songs in a way that will pull the listener kicking and screaming into a sing-along punk song much like Screeching Weasel did for a generation back in the late 80’s and 90’s.
The album is filled with lyrics speaking about a relationship that has fallen apart, and while that is a major theme of the album, it isn't the only insight you can draw from the lyrics as there are a lot of references to things like Social Media, the daily routines of life and how to conform to them, and the songs reference the passing of time a lot as well.
I think the song that really can define the album in itself is the song “Pieces Left” (also appeared on their latest EP) which lyrically is already well constructed, but the actual musical composition of the song is one of the best crafted songs on the album, in my opinion.
The refrain of “If it was easy, we’d fall apart,” though, in context is likely more about the relationship explained can also be seen as a bit of a cultural statement about our society, because no one wants to go the hard road, and thus, we seem to be unraveling as a country.
The cool thing about the order of the songs on this album is that a song like “Pieces Left” can come right before a straight up punk rock song like “Undeserving” and not only do the concepts seem to weave into each other, but the musical diversity of the band is showcased with two totally different sounding songs.
One thing I found pretty interesting was their music video for the song “Rust Between The Years” which follows two Indonesian kids as they turn from school-hating, underachieving workers into rebellious, fun-loving souls. It definitely gives a visual sentiment to what I think this whole album sort of states in various ways.
That lyrical motif seems to point in that direction on the song “Learn The Line” as well.
The idea that you can either keep doing the same thing everyone else does or you can learn to cross over and be your own person is a pretty desirable aspiration in the post-pandemic world for a lot of young people.
The band has been around since 2011, but this is my first time being introduced to them. I think I am going to have to go back into their past albums and get more acquainted with this band now, because I definitely think they are a very solid band with good music.
The band is fronted by guitarist/vocalist Arik Victor, and filled out by Steve Vaiani (drums), Beau Brendley (guitar), and Kyle McKnight (bass).
This album doesn’t have a single bad song on it, and while the post hardcore sound can be a bit of an acquired taste, if you are already a fan of the genre, you are going to enjoy this album, I think.