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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Charlie is back!, June 3, 2008
Goldfinger, is one of my (3) favorite bands of ALL times, (Rancid & Less Than Jake)...
Wow, Charlie is back and he let them put out this peice of work as a full length CD. I feel cheated, only 12 tracks. 12 is a lullaby, so it doesn't count and track 11 "Free Kevin Jonas" is an old track they just slapped on the end.
This should have been an EP.
"Get up" is AWESOME! that is about it. All down hill from there. It's like, they didn't want to be bothered with making a reel piece of work. I guess they just threw some tracks together to make a few bucks, they did not bother to put any quality in the song writing.
These days with the Pro-tools, anyone can make great sounding recordings, but we need more great music compositions... and, well, looks like John and the boys are getting lazy.
Maybe John just needs a nice, juicy, large double cheese burger to inspire his song writing again. Like the old days...
Save your money!
From a long time Goldfinger fan... Lil' Gleason
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
FINALLY...A step in the right direction, April 22, 2008
I'm happy to report that my review for Hello Destiny is lightyears more positive than the one I wrote for Disconnection Notice. With the artwork being a dead giveaway, yes this is a return to the old school Goldfinger we once knew...well, slightly. First (and most obviously) the horns are back, if only in two songs. Get Up and The Only One harken back to the days of old (i.e. self-titled and Hang-Ups) delivering a catchy ska sound that the band lost 8 years ago. Before I go off on a tangent, lets talk about the differences between this album and the last two. I will start by saying that I am a bit biased because the first three albums are my absolute favorites. The fans all know that John Feldmann went vegan sometime after Stomping Ground and this personal vendetta spilled over into Goldfinger's music on Open Your Eyes. After that, John got a little bit preachy on Disconnection Notice (Wasted) and pretty cheesy (Stalker). It seemed that Goldfinger had lost the fun aspect of their music leaving us with bland radio-friendly fodder. Well, now with Charlie Paulson back into the fold, the band has released their first (mostly) inspired album since Stomping Ground. Songs like One More Time, Bury Me, Withou Me, and Not Amused really makes this album a great listen with their energetic groove and nostalgic feel. It almost feels like 1996 again. However, there are a few tunes that are kinda bland. Tracks like How Do You Do It and Goodbye leave a lot to be desired as they are just "there" and don't really stand out has superior punk tunes, average really. There are two songs that re-hash what John said about animal cruelty on Open Your Eyes: Get Up is an anti animal experimentation song, while Free Kevin Kjonaas is a song about the imprisoned animal rights activist. The only compaint I ever had with these songs is that it detracted from the lyrical topics that made Goldfinger enjoyable in the first place. I'm happy that John has chosen to stand up for defenseless animals, but Goldfinger is best when they are singing about fun in the sun, crappy relationships, skatboarding and perseverance. Thats the Goldfinger I loved anyway. There is also an anti-war song called War (surprised?). It is a good song with lots of back-up vocals during the verses. Good song (my girlfriend calls War an "emo" song, she may be right heh.). The biggest surprise on here is Handjobs For Jesus. Wow....just...wow. This songs will have you guessing for days. It is a truly genre-bending track that changes speeds and styles many times before it is done. A very intricate and true song if I ever heard one. Definitely a songs for those of us that believe in atheist peace. Also, there are guest appearances on this album. I believe it is the singer from The Used on Not Amused? Anyway, it really doesnt detract from the music too much. So bottom line, if you are a Goldfinger fan from any (or all) albums you owe it to yourself to check out Hello Destiny. It is the best thing they have done in almost a decade and if this is any indication of the future for these middle-aged Cali punk rockers then the future looks bright and Goldfinger's days are long from over. Buy it now!
Take care.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Goldfinger - Hello Destiny 6.5/10, August 10, 2008
On their first release free from major label, ska-punk granddaddies Goldfinger retreat to their earlier sound, bringing out a record that reeks of old-school `90s punk that they and bands like Rancid birthed and which lead to such abominations as Simple Plan and Good Charlotte. Luckily, Goldfinger has been in the business long enough to make their 3-minute riots incisive and (normally) tuneful.
Hello Destiny is your standard power-chord, anthemic punk guitar-and-drum record, and Goldfinger's musical explorations are few. "The Only One" most strongly recalls their ska heyday, a full-tilt reggae pop song that benefits from singer John Feldmann's emotive voice.
While the album starts off with relatively strong, following the embarrassing rant "War," the album tends to slide. "How Do You Do It" is your typical pop-punk love song that now just sounds recycled and Bert McCracken of the Used's guest spot on "Handjobs for Jesus" degenerates the song into rote emo screaming.
Luckily, Hello Destiny contains more listenable punk singalongs than most of Epitaph Records, and proves that while age doesn't necessarily bring maturity, it does teach you a thing or two about music.
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