Album review: Goldfinger – Nine Lives

If you flinch at the sight of the word ‘ska’, stop reading right now. Ska. Ska. Ska. Ska. Ska. Okay, now the rest of us can have a sensible(ish) conversation about a very good ska punk record. Side note: people really thought they were getting ’90s nostalgia cultural revival, without invoking the return of ska punk? No chance. We’re so back, baby.

It may be hard to believe that Goldfinger’s killer comeback record, 2017’s The Knife, was released almost nine years ago. So, arriving at their ninth studio album, the LA punks would’ve been well within their rights to slow things down a little. But spoiler: they haven’t. If anything, they’re faster than ever.

Propelled by a hail of Travis Barker’s paciest drum fills, opening tracks Chasing Amy and Freaking Out A Bit, feature machine-gun-fast riffs and vocals to match. The latter song even sees Travis’ blink-182 bandmate Mark Hoppus put in a stint on vocal duty. And he’s not the only friend Goldfinger OGs John Feldmann and guitarist Charlie Paulson have enlisted to help bring Nine Lives to life.

There are cut-glass vocals and screaming from Ice Nine Kills’ Spencer Charnas on Derelict. Jim Lindberg of Pennywise fame jumps in for out-and-out ska banger Last One Standing, and FIDLAR’s Zac Carpenter brings a burst of raw energy to the dub-laden Loser. No, we’re not being rude. Loser’s the name of the song.

Elsewhere, emo-rapper iann dior helps make Untouchable feel as laid back as Goldfinger have ever been. There’s even room for El Hefe of NOFX to rip a signature guitar solo over banjo-backed track (yes, really) The Punisher. And, against all odds, the country-twist on this tune checks out.

That’s not to say this record’s all gold and no finger, though. There is, for example, a song asking what John Lennon was like when he was high. For anyone who’s listened to The Beatles' I Am The Walrus, the answer to that question should be pretty obvious, so we’d recommend skipping this one. For anyone who hasn’t listened to The Fab Four's acid-pop freak-out, we’d also recommend skipping this one. It’s just not this album’s finest moment, okay? Hey, even John Lennon wrote his fair share of stinkers.

No, Goldfinger aren’t re-inventing the wheel here, but let’s look at it this way: following on from 2017’s The Knife and 2020’s Never Look Back, Nine Lives marks a hat-trick of highlight-ridden records from a band whose peers are all winding down, splitting up and/or suing each other.

This is the sound of a band completely comfortable with who they are and the music they make. A band who know how to write fast, loud punk songs, just as well as they know how to write some of the best ska songs you’ll find this side of 1999. And you just know the gems in here will go off at Slam Dunk in spring. Right, we’re off to dig out our checkered Vans and limber up…

Verdict: 4/5

For fans of: blink-182, FIDLAR, The Interrupters

Nine Lives is out now via Big Noise.