Kent Goolsby comes out swinging on his third album, Trophies of Youth. If his warm, raspy voice sounds familiar, it’s because you heard him front the unfortunately defunct The Only Sons.
Goolsby is really excellent at creating moods. All three of his recordings create a warm, sun-drenched feel thanks to his dreamy cadence and liberal use of distorted guitars. Where The Only Sons’ previous album felt like a celebration of slackerdom, Trophies of Youth takes a more thoughtful, melancholy turn.
The album isn’t humorless — “Jesus Is My Landlord” is a great track. But Trophies is at heart about growing up, and Goolsby shows that the inconsistencies that are sad but funny at 20 start to get a little desperate as you approach 30.
Jesus Is My Landlord
Pleased (You Can’t Be)
Two By Two
Kent Goolsby — Official, Facebook, Buy Trophies of Youth from This Is American Music, Bandcamp, Amazon