Great Good Fine Ok - III

Great Good Fine Ok
III
2017
Spotify

Great Good Fine Ok are weird. There it is, let's get it out of the way early. Their singer has an odd falsetto, wears a sparkly gold floor length coat at shows and their sound is so aggressively electropop it is sometimes jarring. BUT, there is just something about them that you cannot help but liking. Maybe it is the energy, or the earnestness but their sound is so wholly them that you cannot help but appreciate it. I have been to a couple of their live shows and their energy is so infections almost like !!! (Chk chk chk) but more on the pop side rather than disco. What their music is not is deep, this is fun surface level tunes to get your ass on the dance floor and stop over thinking everything. This new record III is much more dance and electropop heavy than their previous outings really focusing in on the sound they want to develop. When this breaks down however is where we start to see some of the cracks. "Thinking" drips with 80s cheese, such an overly affectionate song that you almost cringe when you hear it. This is an issue that Great Good Fine Ok have often, they put together a sting of really great tracks, but then drop one out of no where that is an absolute stinker. It just does not seem like the same band who made "Take It or Leave It" could also make "Thinking" and on the same album no less.

One thing that seems to be missing form this record is a strong low end. Previous Great Good Fine Ok tracks had a whole lot of funky bass lines, but they seem to have taken a backseat for a more synthy sound this time around. They also manage to use a lot of tones and sounds from other bands that they actually hang and tour with. "Holding You" sounds like it was written recorded and produced by Panama Wedding. The singer's voice is very distinctive, but the music itself never really manages to standout from a very crowded pack. When they are having fun, pushing the energy and dancing Great Good Fine Ok are at their absolute best, but sustaining that for an album is hard work both for the artist and the listener. They may actually be one of those bands that people say down the road they were not able to capture the energy of their live performance into an album. III is a nice step forward for them, but there is still a ways to go before we get the best Great Good Fine Ok can offer.

6.9 out of 10