- Bratty Newcastle two piece punks The Gooch Palms seem pretty intent on not taking themselves all that seriously. If it's not their eerily alluring, Gummo-esque "press" photos, of frontman Leroy Macqueen looking like David Bowie on crack, wearing bike shorts and doing everyday things like pulling a sweet wheelie or doing the dishes, or their live shows, which usually feature about as many glimpses of a stranger's wang as any single person should endure on any given evening, Drummer Kat Friend splashing about some theremin and occasionally a little blood, it's the group's name, conjuring up only the most terrifying images in my mind, images I can never un-think.

Don't get me wrong though, I'm no poster boy for seriousness. There's absolutely nothing worse and off-putting in this world than those who take themselves too seriously: parrots parading around pecking away at life. In my eyes there's nothing wrong with a little fun and a little skin, my only fear is that amongst the absurdity one could easily miss the downright solid songwriting chops the group possess.

After a 7" that featured two originals and a Rolling Stones track and then a digital-only release consisting purely of faithful, loving Ramones covers, I was pretty stoked that the band's latest release, R U 4 Sirius? opted for original material only. Though only a smidge under the ten minute mark, the four tracks here finally allow Joe Schmo to get a real sense of who The Gooch Palms are.

R U 4 Sirius? comes off like the combination of the pure punk joy of the aforementioned Ramones meeting the modern synth angst of Lost Sounds, sans the self-loathing. The group's D.I.Y. embrace of the glory days of punk rock is a welcomed one. The music deceptively simple, pretension free and fun. Sometimes the fun factor is a sorely overlooked one, sometimes I need my music not to bum me out.

The record was mixed and mastered by the steady hands and employing sthe teely head-powers of Straight Arrows frontman Owen Penglis, the resulting sound warm and gloriously rough around the edges, the hooks engaging but never overly confronting, the songs fun but never annoying.

Though originally released on vinyl through Anti Fade in the latter part of last year, outside getting your hands on one of those (limited, yet still available) 7"s or braving the band in the flesh, the songs remained mostly incognito, whispers on the wind and despite the fact it's already a little dated, it's certainly a case of better late than never. The digital release comes as both a nice refresher and natural precursor to debut full length due later in the year. I don't know what exactly a Gooch Palm is, and I probably don't want to find out. But what I do know for certain is they mean business and they're coming for us whether we're ready or not.

- Jay Edwards.