Joe Goddard just released an EP, and if you're detecting whiffs of Hot Chip and The 2 Bears in his sound, you're not alone. Endless Love is the latest release to come from the very musical mind of Goddard (also in Hot Chip and The 2 Bears), and it's both an in-depth exploration of electronic music, and just an all-around good time when blasting through your speakers. When you pick your way through the tracklist, it's fun to pick out the similarities to his other work, but the real joy comes when you notice where these songs do differ and diverge from the material he made in concert with others. What you're getting here is Goddard's sound at its most basic and pure state, and surely, it's always a treat to see what individuals from famous bands do when given the reins and ride solo. In this particular instance with Endless Love, Goddard offers the listener a more stripped-down approach to electronic, and with it comes all sorts of offbeat influences and quirky sounds. Listen to the whole thing if you have the time, but we picked out a couple of our favorites to highlight so you get a good feel for what this project is all about. First up is the EP's namesake, "Endless Love". It's one of the more full-bodied tracks on the list, and the low-key house style intro develops into something much more avant-garde, which we enjoy. The next two up are "Conway Hall" and "Make It Right". Like the rest of the EP, these two tracks espouse a certain sonic understatement that doesn't try to wow you like some roadside billboard. You're going to have to meet Goddard's music half way, but if you do, the soft production work and clever sounds will have no trouble impressing you on a level that most of the poppy dance music and indie-rock out there right now just can't. Last on the list is "Carried Away", and for this one, it's all about the final minute or so when Joe busts out his inner Kanye (circa 2008) and gives us a little taste of what could very well be his take on the overt auto-tuning and funky production work in "Love Lockdown". With great songs like these, Endless Love is a success on multiple levels, but most of all, it serves as a way to isolate the musical influence that he's had on the music that his bands have put out over the years. It that regard, his work here is not only fun, but informative, and it's all the more engaging because of it. Endless Love is available on iTunes now.
Joe Goddard