Team Goldie

Never before has an album taunted me from the review pile, as Anniversary the debut e.p. from Team Goldie taunted me. How could five songs be so hard to write about? In a time when I could easily classify and move past most of the albums cluttering my desk, why was Team Goldie the one haunting me? Well dear reader, it’s because I don’t know how to properly describe how fun this record really is.

Anniversary is a too short 15 minutes, 15 minutes that leave you begging for more and quickly reaching for the play button again and again. The e.p. consists of a mix of Beastie Boys styled hip hop ranting and Reggie and the Full Effect inspired pop punk. But it’s so much better than that could ever sound. First of all to address what I’m sure will spring to your mind, no this doesn’t sound like MC Lars. MC Lars was straight up hip-hop, just with samples of emo bands. Team Goldie on the other hand does it all. Songs are wonderful concoctions of keyboards and guitars with sung choruses that would make Fallout Boy jealous.

The first track, Spring Break 1871 (What happens in the old west stays in the old west) is a sexy little tale about finding the perfect girl. What makes this tired topic worth rehashing yet again? How about lines like:
I could start a forest fire with a match tip,
I could reach into a haystack and pullout a sewing kit,
I like girls that are sensible
Actions not reprehensible
Get me a cutie with her nose in a book
Who’s modest about her good looks
The cheesiest stuff works when you deliver it the right way, and Matt DiStefano (the man behind Team Goldie) delivers more lines than John Z. DeLorian (Look it up. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_De_Lorean)

DiStefano has friends such as Aaron Scott of Marathon adding guest vocals through out the album, leading to extremely rich vocal harmonies drenching each song. Most impressive of all is that DiStefano wrote and performed every single track on the record. Considering each song is recorded with real guitars, bass and keyboard as well as drum programming that sound like real drums, the versatility of Team Goldie as an artist really stands out.

Although I’m sure DiStefano would be the first to admit that his rhymes are mostly tongue in cheek (example: “my tongues got a condo inside my cheek”) he does so while still letting a few traces of real emotion slip past. If you can look past a few random lines about Cheese Steak and other Philly favorites, Sharpshooter! Sharpshooter! is a love letter to home that honestly tugs the heart strings. Who can’t relate to the chorus of:
You can’t spell home without second chances and regrets
You can’t spell home without all your family and your friends
You can’t spell home without Pennsylvania
You can’t spell home without bonfires
And all the things that are so tough to find again

That’s what makes Team Goldie stand out. It took Reggie three full lengths before we saw any of his heart, while DiStefano is throwing it out on the table as an introduction. This e.p. shows a level of potential that’s nothing short of terrifying; how is he going to follow this up and maintain the quality. The recording is flawless; never too poppy or too raw, and the songs are sticky and sugary without being boring fluff. This is a hell of an introduction.

As of this writing Team Goldie is without a label, and that’s a damn shame. There is a whole industry out there complaining about the lack of original artists while one stands out in front of it screaming “HEY YOU MORONS LOOK DOWN HERE!” If you like power pop you’ll like this record. If you like strange indie hip-hop you’ll like this record. If you enjoy a good hook and a catchy line, you’ll like this record. Rarely is an album perfect for the dance floor and your head phones. Seriously kids, this is an Anniversary you won’t be forgetting.

8.6 out of 10
RIYL: Hellogoodbye, Gym Class Heroes or Atom and his Package - John-Michael Bond

With New Year's Eve less then two weeks away the white belt sporting, girl pants wearing crowd is scrambling to nail down three things; whose parents will be out of town, who will buy them their candy coated barely alcoholic drinks, and what music will they party to. Luckily for the fashionable crowd, Team Goldie has whipped up the perfect New Year's Eve party album.

Anniversary is an ingenious release that draws together pop-punk, hip-hop and dance beats. It’s a mixed bag of tricks has shows off some pretty tight seams. While never sounding unfocused or confused, the album is constantly moving in polar opposite directions. The instrumentation is purely organic, but the parts are looped. The beat is pulsing, but it isn’t clubby. The vocal delivery is hip-hip hop, but the pop-punk instrumentation makes the vocals seem decidedly rock. Team Goldie is in a league of his own. In comparison to his closest counterparts, his songs are punkier then MC Lars and more stripped down then Head Automatica. Dare it be said, Anniversary, a pop-punk album, is downright original.

While the album stands out as an original creation, Team Goldie still has songwriting kinks to work out. “Spring Break 1871” masterfully opens the album with a multi-layered booty-shaking chorus, but the album struggles to sustain momentum. The tracks begin to manifest an unnerving repetitive sameness. The mockingly titled “Sad Kids Can’t Dance” almost reclaims the glory of “1871” but lyrics like, “She’s got a body like a battle ship, battle ship. She’s got a booty like an aircraft carrier” may turn off discerning music fans. Although the rump shakers among us may not want to party to a song about the struggles of US Patent office workers, deeper lyrical content couldn’t hurt.

Even though Anniversary is rough around the edges, it showcases a musician ripe with potential striving to forge his own sound a sea of relative oneness. Fashion core kids take heed, “Spring Break 1871” is a must have for your New Year's Eve mix tapes. - Mark Jourdian