Toby Goodshank made his high-profile musical debut playing acoustic guitar in The Moldy Peaches. That I already knew. He has touring extensively Stateside and abroad with artists including Jeffrey Lewis and Kimya Dawson. Well, yeah, that makes sense. That Goodshank has a prolific solo career, recording 14 albums in a five-year span - that just about blew my mind. Apparently he is prominent in the underground NYC music scene, which I of course wouldn't be privy to, but based on his background and the strength of latest record Truth Jump Fall, Id fully believe it.
Anti-folk is bandied around pretty loosely these days, with many taking on the genre as their flagstaff usually proffering music that is just acoustic weirdness, or in some cases, is just shit. Yet whilst much of Goodshank's oeuvre plays with unconventional storytelling and innuendo, something that has been a staple of this sub-genre (and something that Lewis and Dawson have also carved a craft from), Truth Jump Fall proves to cover darker, more sombre terrain. Something akin to John Darnielle in his personal and verbose lyricism, Goodshank doesn't mince about, often cutting things short before the song can take flight - yet the brevity truly works well in these personal tomes. It's a short album, yet, also like Darnielle's Mountain Goats, the introspection, melancholia and obtuse nature of these mostly stripped back tracks somehow still show off pop nous - these are catchy tunes. Whilst I may not have known Goodshank as a standing voice before now, I'm definitely a fan now.
Truth Jump Fall is out now.
Toby Goodshank - Truth Jump Fall
Toby Goodshank - Baby I Feel Like I Just Got Cut In Half
If you're a fan too, head over to Toby Goodshank's Bandcamp here where there is so much of past and upcoming music there it will fry your brain!
