Skeleton Goode - Skeleton Goode (2019)

Back in November 2019 a new album hit the streets that could have fit well in the heady pop-psych days of the late 60s, the self-titled debut release by Skeleton Goode. Skeleton Goode is an international four-piece band with members from the US, Japan, and England, but that has no bearing on the music. What they present are ten tracks of lo-fi tinny sounding trippy pop-psych of various styles, even experimental at times. The opening track, “Enamel Animal,” is instrumental surf rock ala The Ventures plus all manner of odd percussion. “Razors in the Clay” sounds like it could have been on the White Album, next to “Sexy Sadie” or “Savoy Truffle,” but with a harder edge. Then there are “Leaf Green Gamma Girlz” and “James Dean,” two trippy songs that hint at the The Byrds and today’s Soft Hearted Scientists, but more gritty. Then there is a bit of Steely Dan’s “Go Back Jack, Do It Again” influence on “Never Going (Back Home).” The high point of the album for me is “Someone’s Coming.” Reverbed guiar, gothic western psych, and dark acoustic guitar with hints of The Doors. Taken together, Skeleton Goode is an outstanding debut album, leaving you thirsting for more.