Truth Jump Fall. Toby Goodshank

In 2019 Tiny Room Records re-released Toby Goodshank's untitled album. In 2021 it does the same for Truth Jump Fall and arguably even more rightly so. Truth Jump Fall is an album that deserves being pulled out of obscurity. Even if only for me, as I had never heard of Toby Goodshank prior to 2019, let alone his music. His former band, The Moldy Peaches, at best rang the faintest of bells and not because I have a long forgotten album in my huge collection.

This album starts as if the first song is a cover of Procul Harum's 'A Whiter Shade of Pale', before losing his way and starting his own song. Recently I saw a mini documentary on the song in which Gary Brooker said he was playing Bach's 'Air' and lost his way and continued from there. Goodshank seems to be doing exactly the same thing, to come up with the title song of the album. In nothing the stately Procul Harum song can be compared to 'Truth Jump Fall' by the way, which is a nice indie-rocking song.

Where most indie/alternative rocksongs are based on the electric guitar, this album is not. At the heart of it all is an acoustic guitar, giving the album a light atmosphere. Even in a song with the title 'Baby I Feel Like I Just Got Cut In Half' the fun of playing and singing is shining through constantly. Toby Goodshank is celebrating pop music here by writing and playing the best songs he can come up with. And good they are. All the more reason to drag him from obscurity. Fans of REM, Teenage Fanclub and other 90s pop-rock icons ought to discover a new favourite singer after listening to this album.

As I wrote, it is an acoustic guitar taking the lead. Playing either soft chords or intricate patterns, Goodshank shows what he is capable of without fearing to tread on singer-songwriter territory as in 'Sarah And Jon'. Expertly playing dark runs on the bass strings, while shoring up the melody with the higher ones. It gives the album another flavour to digest, deepening the listening experience.

Add to this all that Goodshank is able to give his songs a twist here and there. Whether by playing with the depth of his voice, twisting his guitar strings inside out or by adding a keyboard, my ears are pricking up straight away. Truth Jump Fall may not be exciting because of the level of noise or other exuberant musical behaviour, it is because of the constant quality of the music on it and this usually goes a longer way than antics. Not always, but usually it does. It's time for you to acquaint yourself with the album.

Wout de Natris