The Goops can't live up to their hype

By Fen Hsiao
Arizona Daily Wildcat
February 1, 1996

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Dull and uninteresting, it would be better if the Goops could at least try and be offensive. But for the most part, it seems they're just one in a million of similar bands that seem to put too much wasted energy into an end product lacking any sense of cr eativity.

If I were listening to the radio and heard a song off of Lucky, I would assume it was by that No Doubt band, even though I heard they're supposed to have some sort of a ska sound. But even the songs off of this album aren't as grossly obnoxious as that "I 'm Just a Girl" song. Although the Goops profess to have formed under the influence of Stooges vinyl and cheap beer, this impressive claim hasn't kept them from sounding exactly like any other band describing their music as "aggressive pop."

Incredibly, radio friendly and extremely accessible, I'm surprised the Goops aren't a more known fixture in the alternative rock world. They sound like they should be opening up for Offspring, which I guess they already have. I can also imagine them as a John Hughes house band, the one that's playing in some smoky "club" during a tense moment between the angst-driven couple.

Even the female vocals don't do anything for the Goops' generic sound. However, the lead singer's Debbie Harry wanna-be vocals were probably the only thing that stood out, in that they became rather annoying after a few songs.

Lucky is filled with uncreative melodic vocals followed by shouted choruses. This was the case in I think every song. "Will you suck me like hard candy" the lead singer sings in the surprisingly titled "Hard Candy." The Goops are so boring I couldn't even pick out the supposed "tongue-in-cheek" songs written about in the press kit.

If you're a lover of uncreative, flat, alternative pop, you can probably save yourself a little money by just listening to the radio. I'm sure they'll soon be playing the hit singles off this album anyway. And if you have something better to listen to, th en you should.

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