Goldfinger – Disconnection Notice

Goldfinger have been an ever present force within the punk community. Early on in their career they were dubbed a ska-punk band, but with each release afterwards the band has worked hard to create a sound unique to themselves. And with their newest Maverick Records release, Disconnection Notice, you can be sure that they have once again solidified their sound and will last in the punk community for even longer.

Like most Goldfinger albums, Disconnection Notice has its fair share of hits and mediocrities; but there isn’t one song on it that needs to be skipped. It all flows neatly, and is so catchy that you’ll be singing along after a few listens without even taking a look at the lyrics. Goldfinger have slowed the pace of their songs down a tad since their earlier releases, but it’s not a bad thing. They have just matured and have started to craft more complete songs that don’t rely solely on the fast paced punk three chord melodies. John Feldmann’s vocals are still strong as ever as he sings about a variety of topics that normally go unnoticed in the scene. Although they have the drinking song with Wasted, they also have more political songs like the vegan inspired song Behind The Mask (which features a British woman talking with a militant tone throughout the song making it stand out so much more). Iron Fist takes a stab at the American justice system as Feldmann recalls the time where his house was raided by the FBI for three hours after falsely being accused of vandalizing Jerry Greenwalt’s house after an animal rights protest. Both those songs really hit home and are some of the standouts on the release, but like with Wasted, they don’t only focus on serious factors. Take the closing, and best track Stalker which states “I’m wanna marry my stalker.” And like any pop-punk release, they have the occasional love song as well.

Overall, Disconnection Notice is an extremely solid release. It can easily be replayed over and over again as no two songs sound the same as the other and they venture off with various different song structures rather then be locked in a pigeon hold. The songs are catchy and fun, making for one of the best releases of the year so far.