Many will remember Goldfinger for their prominence during the late 90’s with their hits such as “Superman” and “99 Red Balloons” (you’re lying if you claim ignorance of these two songs) as well as their brand of kitschy third-wave-ska meets punk rock. In the years following lead singer and songwriter John Feldmann has made quite the name for himself as a record producer (notably working with bands like Blink-182, 5 Seconds of Summer, The Used, and Avril Lavigne) and developing a very distinct sound that can be found in nearly all of those records. In addition, the band has gone through a lineup transition and become somewhat of a pop punk supergroup in a cult classic sort of way in recent years– MxPx frontman Mike Herrera has served as bassist since 2016, and Story of the Year lead guitarist Philip Sneed joined the ranks around the same time as well.
All of those elements play a part in making Never Look Back one of the livelier pop punk albums of the decade, and frankly a lot more fun than it really should have any right to be. You don’t really see bands with 25 years under their belts bring such an infectious energy to the table in the way that Goldfinger did with this record. In large part this is undoubtedly due to the fresh voices in the room with all the previously mentioned lineup changes, along with Feldmann’s exposure to a wide variety of artists in his producing role, but it’s still admirable. Sure there are absolutely mind-numbing components to this record (“You make my heart go boom, boom boom” on the aptly titled “Dumb” is one of them) but hell that’s honestly part of the charm of pop punk and third-wave-ska. If you take yourself too seriously, it all falls apart. And Goldfinger found a way to ride that fine line with Never Look Back, capturing the spirit of the early aughts but not falling prey to trying to recreate it exactly. In a way….they never looked back (oof).
Standout Songs: “Infinite”, “Nothing To Me”, “Good Guy”, “Careful What You Wish For”, “Cannonball”, “Standing On The Beach”
