Gob

Gob is a Canadian pop-punk band who got their start in the mid-90's (remember, when everyone loved Green Day?) thanks to their single "Soda." Since then, they've been shuffled from record label to record label while success has always slightly eluded them, despite the fact that they're far better than most mainstream pop-punk bands. They've enjoyed a reasonable amount of popular singles in Canada, but have never quite hit it big in the US. Gob has everything a pop-punk fan could want: catchy harmonies, chain saw guitars, a singer who can actually sing, and once serious advantage of experience. Gob have been at it for 10 years now, and show no signs of slowing down and retiring from their position of frosh party staple.

Too Late...No Friends (1995) 8 Thumbs Up

This is Gob young, unexperienced, and raw. If you are used to newer Gob, the first thing you will notice is that vocalist Tom can't sing yet. He sort of snarls along in a permanently sarcastic tone the entire album, and probably hits all of two notes right. Gob aren't opposed to the basic punk ethic of swearing left and right, writing songs about how authority and love sucks, and of course, playing kazoos. The recording is stripped-down, and the lyrics are delivered with the biting fury only a kid who just joined a band can spit out. It's so harsh and raw sounding, it probably wouldn't pass for pop-punk today.

There are 20 tracks on the album, and none are longer than 3 minutes. Most people probably picked this one up for their first hit, "Soda," but this isn't just a single with a whole bunch of filler songs. Most of the songs are brief buzz-saw guitar blasts, with "Extra, Extra!," "Lobster Boy," "Fuck Them," "Censorshit," and "Custer's Last 1 Nite Stand" being the stand-out tracks. The album closer, "Hey Stephanie," features every single band member singing to a fake live track. This is an amazing debut album, and Gob was only going to get better.

Ass Seen On TV [Split] (1997) 7 Thumbs Up

This is a split with 9 tracks from Gob and 8 tracks from Another Joe, a Canadian pop-punk band that I haven't heard from since. Anyway, disregarding the Another Joe tracks, this is so-so. It's more or less 9 songs that could've been on Too Late. They've got the same production feel and the same lyrical feel. The only difference is that, unlike Too Late, nothing on this split really stands out.

"Wiseguy," which is one of the few Theo sung songs, is not bad, and the anti-record label "Na Na Na, Blah Blah Blah, Fuck You" is hilarious in retrospect now that Gob has been dropped from their major label, Arista. But other than that, these songs are fairly bland. Ah well, it was just a split, so it doesn't concern me.

How Far Shallow Takes You (1999) 8 Thumbs Up

How Far... is Gob's first album on a major label, allowing them to have halfway decent distribution. This CD is important because it proved that Gob weren't just some 90's one-hit wonder band. They had moderate success with the singles "What to Do" and "Beauville." Just as Gob were given a slight push by Green Day's popularity when Too Late came out, Blink-182's success with Enema of the State gave this album a helping hand. They don't need the influences of other bands, though, because they've improved enough musically to stand on their own. Plus, in the past 4 years Tom has finally learned how to sing!

The production has gotten slicker, but remains faithful to Gob's lack of glossy overproduction. Tom's songs are quality pop-punk, while Theo's songs have a harder sound to them. "License From A Cereal Box," "Self Appointed Leader," "Stand and Deliver," and "Together" all prove that Gob knows exactly what they're doing. New bassist Craig and drummer Gabe are far better than their precursors, and are what pull this record together. It's a good pop-punk record - catchy and melodic without being too sappy.

The World According To Gob (2000) 9 Thumbs Up

Aww yeah, this is how it's done! The band pulls it all together - Tom and Theo's singing and guitar abilities, Craig and Gabe's pounding rhythm section, and every songwriting ability that makes them Gob without making it sound like a rehash of their former albums. The production on this album is great, and perfectly fits the catchy atmosphere the band is all about without making it sound too slick or poppy. This album gave them their most successful singles, "I Hear You Calling," "For the Moment," and my personal favourite, the surf rock influenced "No Regrets."

This album is very consistent. There's no songs that really drag it down. "Everyone Pushed Down" and "Sleepy Head" show off Tom's newfound vocal abilities while being just as rock edged as something off of Too Late. Other songs like "144" and "Ex-Shuffle" are poppier examples of Gob's classic fare. Gob is often dismissed as just another pop-punk band, but this album proves that they aren't just some shoddy clone. While this may have been their most mainstream record, that doesn't make it any worse than their previous releases. In fact, this is Gob's best album to date. New fans should start with this one.

F.U. EP [EP] (2002) 8 Thumbs Up

Gob were signed to Arista after the success of The World According To Gob, who had high hopes of making these boys from British Columbia the next pop-punk posterboys. Did you like my mad alliteration skills in that last line? Anyway, Arista's first step was to release a 9 song EP summarizing Gob's career, wisely assuming the mall-crawling brats who so eagerly gobble up pop-punk would be too lazy to seek out any albums that weren't spoonfed to them. 3 of the 9 songs are brand-new, forcing loyal Gob fans to purchase the EP despite already owning 2/3 of the songs. Cutthroat major labels.

Anyway, the 3 new songs, "Ming Tran," "Sick With You," and "L.A. Song" are still pretty awesome. They're melodic enough to have been on The World... without sounding like a half-assed rehash. "Ming Tran" even became a successful single, so it's good to see Gob got some money out of the Arista bastards. The songs that already appear are more or less all of Gob's singles. 1 is from Too Late, 3 are from How Far, and 2 are from The World. What mystifies me, though, is that they didn't include "I Hear You Calling," Gob's most popular song. Other than that, though, if you're new to Gob, it's a good overview of their career. However, since Gob so kindly put "Ming Tran" on the next CD, if you're a loyal fan, just burn the other 2 songs.

Foot In Mouth Disease (2003) 8 Thumbs Up

This was Gob's only release to date on a major label, not counting Nettwerk who really only has distribution power in Canada. Despite the fact that this album could kick the ass of any emo band that's mysteriously making millions, the lame kids in the US didn't buy enough copies of it and Arista dropped them. Arista is a hip-hop label anyway - they'd probably never heard a power chord in their lives. So is this record good? Yes, but the definite major label influence in it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Production is too slick, and first single "Give Up the Grudge" is a lame "fight the mainstream kids!" track that major labels seem to think is the way to make kids buy their records. The irony!

Opening track "Lemon-Aid" is a good catchy love song, and should've been their second single instead of the bland "Oh! Ellin." The song "I Cut Myself, Too" is vaguely amusing in the sense that it's going to be every emo kid who picks up this album's favourite song. "Ming Tran," the best song off the F.U. EP, is helpfully included, as is "I Hear You Calling," the track I lamented was missing from said EP. "I've Been Up These Steps," "Bully," and "Everybody's Getting Hooked Up" are all full of that classic Gob sound no major label could change. This is a bit watered-down when compared to other Gob CDs, but really isn't that bad.

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