REVIEWS

Buzz Magazine, Champaign, IL, May 2000, entire text:

Boy meets girl happens to everybody. Boy and girl fall madly in love is a possibility. Boy and girl encounter no obstacles on their way to eternal happiness. Right. Being cheated on, getting played for fools, going unnoticed by the object of our affection. The relationship game is tough, confusing and frustrating - anything but everlasting love and dreams come true. But it's certainly no reason to give up. Chicago rock band The Good knows this. And with their new album, Breaking Up and Down, they have created a soundtrack for the more embarrassing moments of dating, romance and commitment.

It's also a refreshing change in sound for the band, whose guitar crunch is still present, although more vibrant and friendly than heavy and ominous. Yet The Good has not wussed out. Sure, they've mostly ditched the timely subtext of their lyrics and lost prolific lead guitarist John Scholvin. But their four-man lineup is lean and tough, with a stylistically unpredictable sound and playful sensibility.

Vocalists/guitarists Tony Rogers and Devin Arkin's intricate two-part harmonies swell and recede against the backdrop of Dave Rothkopf's inventive bass lines and John Goodman's raucous, pounding drumming. Songs like "The Deal," "Star Now" and "Something You Said" tackle confusion over a relationship's status, being forgotten in the wake of a loved one's fame and the lingering, bittersweet memories of a romance gone bad.

Songwriters Tony Rogers and Devin Arkin have written songs that are straightforward - sarcastic, somber or apologetic when the occasion rises, but never cynical. Their ability to turn a phrase has always been wickedly clever - as it is on this record. But the most impressive lyrical accomplishment on Breaking Up and Down is its ability to include an emotional component to go with the bite. It is easy to identify with these scenarios because they're realistic and honest, not formulaic cardboard cutouts fashioned specifically for a three-minute running time.

The accessibility of the record continues with its high-energy production, veering down a twisty sonic road instead of hammering it on a straightaway like the pop ditties of today. Breaking Up and Down is radio-ready, but The Good are far from one-hook wonders. A fluidity of sounds, styles and speeds elevates the album above any competitors the pop rock arena might throw at The Good.

An elegant and ethereal keyboard finds its way onto the album on "You Have Three Messages," a meditation on the answering machine -the dreaded foe of any relationship on the rocks. And the band's digs at pop culture -"Diamond Blue" and "Jenny's Jones" - strike with a sharply barbed, intelligent tongue and nifty lyrical wordplay.

Quite simply, The Good has a command of what pop rock should sound like. And the tales of short-term romance on Breaking Up and Down should earn them long-term success.