The Goon Sax


The Goon Sax is an indie pop trio from Brisbane, Australia. Formed in 2013, the band consists of Riley Jones, Louis Forster and James Harrison. Forster is the son of Robert Forster, the co-founder of the Go-Betweens. The band released their debut album, Up to Anything, in 2016 on the Chapter Music label. They have performed with Twerps, Blank Realm, U.S. Girls, and Crayon Fields, among other artists.

History

Forster and Harrison started the Goon Sax when they were still in high school. The two began by collaborating on songs together in Harrison's bedroom. In March 2014, Jones joined the band after taking drum lessons for a month. In September 2015, Chapter Music released their debut single, "Sometimes Accidentally," followed by their second, "Boyfriend," two months later. In early 2016, the band played at Laneway Festival in Brisbane. On 8 April 2016, they released Up to Anything.

Gallery

The Goon Sax at Aarhus Volume Festival 2017.

Critical reception

Up to Anything has a score of 82 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 8 reviews, indicating that it has received "universal acclaim" from critics. In December 2016, Billboard included the album on their critics' list of the Top 50 albums of the year, putting it in 49th place. Billboard described the album as a "gorgeous collection of slacker-default rock". Pitchfork Media's Maria Sherman gave the album a 7.0 score out of 10, writing, "Each song is well-structured and wise beyond its years while the messages are confused, delicate and very, very teenage." NMEs Matilda Edwards described the album as "near-flawless guitar pop". Robert Christgau gave it an A-, writing that the band was "cruder than even the earliest Go-Betweens, who were a university band after all, and somewhat static at their worst. Usually, however, they're charming at least."

Discography

Singles