Tobias Jesso Jr.: Goon ALBUM REVIEW

Tobias Jesso Jr. sounds like a lot of people. When I say that, I don't necessarily mean it in a negative way, because the people he does sound like happen to be some of of favorite singer-songwriters of all time. When I hear the songs from his first album under his own name, I hear shreds of Paul McCartney, Billy Joel and maybe even a little Bob Dylan. The thing is, Tobias writes songs that sound timeless, but also of a very specific time and place in music; most notably, the late 70s and early 80s, where the piano bound crooner was a mainstay on the charts and, in our hearts.

While some people may find endless songs about heartbreak and love a bit boring, or even cheesy as is the case with some of the artists I mentioned above, I personally have a soft spot for a good melody with strong vocals singing wistfully about a love long past, or long over due; and Goon really delivers on that.

You can tell just by the titles the kind of music you're in for on Goon, as is the case with the opener "Can't Stop Thinking About You" which has such a beautiful melody, and of course, Tobias' croon is in perfect harmony, lending the song a lounge singer quality to it. The following track "How Could You Babe" ramps up the drama, and sees Tobias pushing his voice until it cracks, giving the track a sense of urgency that is really refreshing in a world where singer-songwriters are over produced and sound like really good Mac imitations of humans singing songs than actual thinking, feeling human beings singing about love.

Aside from the great vocal delivery, Goon also comes equipped with some great instrumentation. While it is mostly incredibly simple; piano, light drumming, and maybe a guitar strumming softly, it all still feels really big due to the way Tobias embellishes his vocals and piano playing. 

The only complaint I have with the album is that while I really do love the subject matter and style, I still feel a bit worn out after twelve tracks about roughly the same emotion, which in this case is longing, or heartbreak. But, that complaint is only a minor one, in the end I still found a great new face in the world of the piano bound singer songwriter! 

8.4/10