Creep Records – 09 DEC 2022
Having already mastered the emotional catharsis of emo, Goddamnit choose to focus on developing melody and hooks.
Goddamnit already had the emotional catharsis of emo down and now, for their new album All This Time is Yours Now, they seem to have decided to work on improving their melodies and pop hooks. And, in that regard, the album is wildly successful. Much like the cover of their previous album I’ll Never Be Okay, I’ll Never Be the Same looked bleak compared to the new album’s vibrant and colorful cover, that’s basically what the difference between the two albums feels like on an emotional level. All This Time is Yours Now is more of an album of hope than its predecessor.
“Totally Undone” opens the whole thing up with this sense of wonder and beauty while still keeping the guitars raging. “Rejects on the Wall” cranks things up a bit with more speed and power yet still maintains that beauty. “Marked Safe From the Hurricane” is the cleverest title on the record and really rides its strong rhythm section, giving it a sort of Braid/Hey Mercedes vibe. “Hide the Bruises Wisely” relies more on powerfully emotional lyrics while musically playing up some great pop hooks. “Not Quite Airtight” has some of the strongest hooks on the album. “Oakford” is the perfect ending to the album’s emotional journey that brings the whole thing to a hard rocking end.
It really feels like All This Time is Yours Now is an album turning away from the darkness of past work and towards the light of the future. It’s a big emo party that’s fun along the way but also takes you through a complex emotional journey. But in the end, at least musically, it’s an album of hope that finds its way towards that hope in a surprisingly fun way. Emotionally, it’s the logical next step after their previous album.
Julie is punk rock, lesbian time lady from the future. The greatest things in the world are punk rock and science fiction. Check out her website JulieRiver.com!
