Belgium's Golden Goose

Brace yourselves for something a bit more cutting edge than the fabulous rubbish I usually serve up! It's been a while since I had a guest contributor but it's definitely been worth the wait. When Jay first introduced me to Goose, I thought they sounded like every other electro act doing the rounds. It's funny how your opinions can change. After a few listens, the melody in their songs comes to the fore and Goose distinguish themselves by displaying an uncanny pop sensibility. Many thanks to Jay for this great article!

When you think of Belgium, you think of stuffy EU bureaucrats passing laws about bendy bananas and not much else. Yet they managed to produce one of the best electronic acts since the invention of the keyboard. Goose are a quartet hailing from somewhere in said country. Despite not having any commercial success in the UK to date, they have created a massive buzz in the UK Dance and indie scenes alike (and the lead singer has a massive following on myspace). Unlike most acts these days who rely on hype and TV talent shows to get established, Goose are doing things the hard way and have built up a solid fan base through sheer hard graft and a never ending world tour.

Apparently they are very popular with the Brighton crowd – which is where they filmed the video for their debut single, the rather excellent "Black Gloves". The sight of four grown men whizzing round Brighton in a bunch of old skool go-karts is rather funny, but very appropriate for the rather catchy (mostly) instrumental tune - its like the Wacky Races all over again!

Debut album "Bring It On" is a slice of fantastic electronic music, mostly dancey but with a few mellower tracks thrown in for good measure such as "Slow Down" and the sublime "Safari Beach".

The buzz around Goose isn’t limited to a few NME journalists though as the Scissor Sisters commissioned them to remix "She’s My Man", turning it from rather bland “safe” 3rd single to a heady electro pop anthem. The mix can be heard in full on their myspace page. Latest single "Bring It On" follows the trend of previous singles, and gets JFK from MSTRKRFT on board for a fabulous remix and a rather strange video.

"Bring It On" the album is available from some good music retailers, and a few bad ones as well as several digital stores. Though it is easier to find on ebay along with the promo singles. If you are lucky, you might find the deluxe edition in your local HMV which includes several remixes and the rather fabulous Masters On Top.

In a strange coincidence, Goose are currently touring Australia as part of the Parklife extravaganza. Sounds like a pretty hot ticket to me!