Album Reviews

Philadelphia/New Jersey pop-punk outfit Goalkeeper recently released their debut full-length, ‘I Wish I Met You Sooner,’ out now via Lost Music Collective/The Orchard. Produced by Kevin Mahoney (Hit The Lights, Polar Bear Club) and Nik Bruzzese (The Wonder Years, Handguns, Man Overboard), this one sounds as polished as can be and sees the band reaching back to the pop-punk sounds of the early 00’s.

Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. It’s a sound they do well on songs like ‘Car Wreck, ‘Sooner’ and the title track. These songs are upbeat, poppy and snappy and come with pretty much everything you can expect from a pop-punk song. Unfortunately, they also feel harmless and - because you have already heard the same thing being done before - lack excitement. I’m also not sure what they set out to achieve with the electronic drums and synth enhanced ‘Notice Me,’ but it feels oddly out of place.

Check it out if you think bands like State Champs and Real Friends are the bee’s knees