Van Goose
Habitual Eater
(Cardboard Queen Records)
3/5
The best way to describe Van Goose’s debut album would be “an indie futuristic secret agent videogame soundtrack.” And even though it’s a debut, the sole member of Van Goose, Shlomie Lavie, has been around the music industry for years and is the drummer of alt-rockers Marcy Playground.
But experience doesn’t mean this album is perfect. The songs are often easily forgettable, with unintelligible lyrics that have no bearing to the rest of the album—or even the song, in the case of “Last Bus,” “Mike Myers,” and “Where’s My Guy.” The majority of the songs blend together after a while with similar beats and near-identical styles.
My favourite song on the album is “WildStar,” which plays like a slow dance song from an ’80s teenage romance movie.
With an indie-rock sound and a completely unique funky style, Van Goose deserves at least one or two open-minded listens.