HANDSTAND RECORDS

The Goodboy Suit

Within Walls Without Windows 12″ LP

Salmon Pink Vinyl | 300 copies

In less than two years, this emocore quartet mastered blending angular post-rock with early-to-mid 90’s emotional hardcore, creating fiercely candid songs fueled with anger, angst, and sorrow. With unexpected rhythmic turns, accompanied with odd numbers of repeated riffs, often with cleaner melodic lines over the top, these four musicians brought Midwest rockers a more “intellectual” form of post-hardcore. Imagine early AT THE DRIVE-IN if they grew up with Wisconsin winters, met with HOOVER and FRODUS, and you might have an idea of what was happening in Milwaukee in the early 2000s.

Their songs flow like waves, some beginning with calm tranquil pulses leading to distortion, building up and ending with thunderous breakdowns, while others start with a heavy punch, spilling over to rhythmic bass and drums then slowly rising to peak with chaotic clamor. Singer/guitarist George Bregar’s mid-toned pitch fits perfectly to the instrumental dialogue of each song, swaying back and forth between a projecting false chord shout and guttural screams, balanced off with somber murmurs. Bregar and Eric Alonso begin their riffs with clean guitars, gradually adding gain; building to a deafening roar. Andrew Menchal threads the bass around them with subtle slides, giving the audience awareness of balance while Erik Larson’s syncopated drumming holds the group together. Each member of THE GOODBOY SUIT plays with exceptional technicality while still being able to convey raw brooding emotion. It is easy to follow one instrument through the entire album and still find complete satisfaction. Memorize the lyrics and you’ll soon be screaming along.

All seven songs were recorded in the basement of a real estate office in the Ukranian Village neighborhood of Chicago by Mike Lust (RUSSIAN CIRCLES, SWEEP THE LEG JOHNNY, WILLIAM ELLIOT WHITMORE). Five of the songs appeared on the original CD version of Within Walls Without Windows, while the cover of JAWBREAKER’s “Bivouac” appeared on a tribute compilation, both released by Copter Crash Records, run by the late Mike Villani (TRANSISTOR TRANSISTOR, THE SADDEST LANDSCAPE) in 2002. The final song, “Another Piranha in the Tank” was never released until now. On the eve of their 2002 summer tour, THE GOODBOY SUIT disbanded. Members of the band went on to play in TEMPER TEMPER, SINCE BY MAN, DECIBULLY, and DRAMATIC LOVERS.