Good Old War is a trio from Philadelphia that has some of the most addicting music I have heard in a long time. The thing that kept me coming back to them and listening to their sophomore, self titled album was the catchy rhythm and infectious energy. Many bands are fantastic live and have great energy, but when it comes to recording time it lacks a certain luster for me and tends to fall flat. So when I heard the new album Come Back as Rain was set to be released I was excited to take a listen and see if they could capture that energy in this third instalment in their catalog.
The album starts with a catchy tune in “Over and Over” They waste no time getting to the harmonies they are known for. The songs keep coming with tight vocals and fun guitar parts that keep you listening. From the light feel of “Calling me Names” to the slower song “Amazing Eyes” you are pulled in by the story each song tells.
For me the center of this album is the part I continuously repeat and I think it is really where the boys hit their stride. The one two punch of Can’t Go Home and Not Quite Happiness seem to hit me the hardest and they are the songs I repeat the most on this album. The haunting harmonies at the beginning of “Happiness” is what you listen to this band to hear and they do not relent on them from beginning to end.
This is a solid effort from the guys of Good Old War and if there was one thing I could say bad about it is that a few tracks (Better Weather and It Hurts Every time) seem a bit to similar to me and many songs have sections that are a bit too repetitive.They have fantastic lyrics and melodies in songs like “Loud Love” but they are just repeated too many times.
The energy was there for pieces of this album, but it didn’t quite thrill me to rant and rave about how amazing the album was. It is a tough thing to have an album be a hit overall and this one has its shining moments, but it is not a great album, for me it is a good album and one that I will continue listening to. Over all I would give this album a 7 out of 10 and I do look forward to the concert I am going to see in Ann Arbor on April 17th.
Dom's Playlist 