The Goops
Lucky (Kinetic/Reprise)
by Marc Hirsh
The Goops
Lucky (Kinetic/Reprise)
by Marc Hirsh
originally published in the Public News, April 10, 1996
The beauty of punk is that anybody who wants to, can. Its key problem is that there's no height requirement, no net, nothing to stop anybody from trying. Astute readers will note that these are the same. Build a machine that even a fool can use, and only a fool will use it.
The Goops are not terrible. It's hard to suck when you come from a tradition with progenitors that include X-Ray Specs and Slaughter & the Dogs. But this leaves an awful lot of room for mediocrity, which too many bands are far too eager to provide.
Save for one bizarre annoyance at the end of the disc, Lucky is middle-of-the-road punk with few dignifying characteristics. The music's fast, the lyrics are inconsequential and there's enough of a melody in each track to qualify as a song. Enjoyable stuff while it's on. Why you'll feel the need to choose this over any of the countless other punk bands is something you'll just have to deal with on your own.