NateShealy.com Official Review
Good Old War’s Self Titled Album
I’ve been promising this review for a couple of weeks now, the delay was not caused from apathy or lack of motivation… It was more the dead end so to speak of what I wanted to say about this album. So I’ll do my best to convey my thoughts on Good Old War’s newest album. Strap in, it might be a rather bumpy ride.
The album was released on June 1, 2010. I actually didn’t know they were even recording but now that I think about it, it makes perfect sense. Good Old War is good friends with Anthony Green/Circa Survive, they often tour with Anthony and as we all know, Anthony was in the studio recording Blue Sky Noise, a perfect time for Good Old War to hit the studio as well!
My first impression of the album was sort of a cool, sounds like Good Old War alright! type thought. But after I thought more about it, I was sort of disappointed in a way. I like to be able to hear a song and know which album it’s on because of the growth of the band. I feel as though as they progress and grow, so should the music. Some of you who I’ve talked to about the album are probably thinking what the hell Nate, you said it was good?!
It is good! I’ve listened to the album a little over 5 times through (HA to those who make fun of me for being so anal about my play counts on my iPod!)
I think a lot of the “folk” sound that is present in the past albums has in a way faded to a less “twangy” sort of sound. Although there is a lot of “twang” in the album, it has a less southern country feel.
One thing I do wish Good Old War would take more advantage of is Tim Arnold, the drummer’s talent. Good Old War is very much based on acoustic riffs and vocals. Although there is some great rythm that matches, you can often hear Tim using brush drum sticks which are very limiting on rolls and precision which is in my opinion, his main strength. I realize, however when you do an acoustic set, it’s much more appropriate to use brush sticks to sort of muffle the sound to match acoustic guitars. Tim definitely does a great job on this album, he keeps the beat extremely interesting throught all the tracks.
All in all, the album gets the job done. It has a very “home” feeling for me when I listen to it (if that makes any sense). You can definitely hear the growth of talent from the guitars, there’s some amazing riffs/melodies.
My favorite track on this album is “My Name’s Sorrow” it’s very pure and I love the sound of finger picking an acoustic guitar.
Official Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
I see a great future for Good Old War.
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