“I think they might be my new obsession” – Tom Ravenscroft, BBC Radio 6 Music
Featured in L.A. Times and picked as one of NPR’s Artists To Watch at last year’s SXSW, Goon also earned support slots with Grandaddy and Lucy Dacus. Based on this acclaim and two independently released EP’s, they were signed by Partisan who promptly re-released those records and their debut album.
Goon’s latest video was directed by the band’s singer and guitarist Kenny Becker. His creative achievements are all the more impressive because he suffers from a condition that causes polyps on his sinuses. This debilitates his senses, including his hearing. Unfortunately, surgery can only temporarily relieve the condition.
Interestingly, it’s not anger or frustration about the illness that drives him to create. Instead, it’s the periods of freedom and clarity that emerge while the condition is under control. Becker explained “I’m able to be productive in the times that I’m not sick…it was actually because [Van Gogh] was sick that he would go outside and see a cherry-blossom tree and just be struck by its beauty. It would make him realize ‘This might be the last time I see this.’”
The recording process took three years. During this time, momentous life events took place, including Becker’s engagement and drummer, Christian Koons, becoming a father. This extended period helped them see the record as an ‘album’ in the literal sense of documentation. “I can’t help but hear the last three years,” Becker explained.
“I enjoy the fact that the really heavy F Jam and the really quiet Snoqualmie exist on the same record. The whole thing is loud and hits really hard, but it feels like it actually takes you places.”
Heaven Is Humming by Goon is out now.
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