From the beginning of
Falling Out, Oakland, CA's
Good for You offers listeners passionate indie rock, combining crunchy guitars with Peter Nochisaki's varied vocal attack. Opening with the rise-and-fall unpredictability of "French Lies," the disc shows a band still trying to find its sound and eagerly changing gears and tempos, resulting in an uneven though spirited effort. The trio of Nochisaki, bassist Jessica Cowley, and drummer Jake Hartigan slows things down for the beginning of the title track, before embracing a steadily restrained tempo and Nochisaki's harmonizing with Cowley. While Nochisaki's vocals are easily comparable to
Superchunk's
Mac McCaughan, the music is often more emo or post-punk. From the catchy organ pop of "Can't Hardly Stop" to the restrained art rock of "Call Off the Dogs" and the funky layers of guitar on "Unthrash Me," the multidimensional band shows a penchant for diversity throughout the ten-track
Falling Out. Closing out the disc with the aggressive and raw "Landlord Song" and the unabashedly spastic "No Trombone," the band ended its brief tenure with a disc of assorted sounds and an undeniable focus and sincerity. The album marked a true falling out for the couple of Nochisaki and Cowley, who went on to pursue other musical projects after the album's completion. Recorded in 1999 and 2000, the disc was finally released in 2001 by Good Forks Records. ~ Stephen Cramer