2 out of 5

Label: Sarathan Records

Produced by: Chris Common (recorded by)

For partially unclear and surely silly reasons, I never cottoned to The White Stripes. Their shtick, the genre, the style – it all tapped into something a bit too immediate and hip for my tastes. But: I worked in a chain music store during their popular peak; I heard those S4RI / V2 albums tons of times; I can admit: the duo knew how to craft a catchy tune, and I’d come around to appreciate Jack White’s rootsy production sensibilities as well.

Similar sentiments exist for other bands that happened in that era of rock revivalism: the ones that came and went with a single, I rather understood why; the ones that made a longer mark – like, say, The Black Keys – I also felt like I got it.

Given that, when one of the first things most press / reviews of your album states is that you sound like The Black Keys, you’re already probably a couple steps removed from my lumping much praise your way.

Indeed: Seattle twofer My Goodness do the bluesy guitar / drums thing with a slightly yellier edge. The lyrics don’t cover much atypical ground – or much at all, from what I pick out if the vague sentiments about datin’ and livin’ life – and vocalist Joel Schneider has a nice, beery shouty but it’s not otherwise too distinctive. The group’s avoidance of outright riffage is a differentiating factor, and I think producer Chris Common was a good choice for promoting that, giving the two instruments plenty of space and no song rushed to a chorus, but by the same token, “two dudes playing blues rock” seemed firmly stuck in My Goodness’ member’s minds, and so they do get around to punching it up, and those moments – between the big, rocking splashes and some more open-ended verses – can fall a little flat. Ultimately, though, that middling effect means nothing much emerges as a single, which, with this style of music, also means nothing much emerges at all.

The chops are clearly there, and if My Goodness could maybe ditch the sounds-like tag, that could be turned into something more distinct.