Good Grief

***Good things come to those who wait, and in the case of Liverpool’s Good Grief, the wait was worth it. The band first appeared back in 2013 via a series of split 7”s and an excellent EP on Odd Box Records. HHBTM loved them, excitedly pairing them up for a split single with like-minded band Eureka California, who then brought them over for an American tour. So you can believe us when we say we’re excited about the release of the band’s long-awaited debut album Shake Your Faith. Formed in 2012 by Liverpudlian guitarist/vocalist Will Fitzpatrick, bassist/vocalist Paul Abbott and drummer Matiss Dale, Good Grief released a handful of singles before real life took precedence and the band took a back seat in 2015. They never officially broke up, though, regrouping to play the occasional date, sometimes with big names like Wussy and Superchunk. Good Grief fully reactivated in 2018, and spent 2019 working on and off on what would become Shake Your Faith. They were all set to finish and release the album in 2020, but then…well, you know what happened. Shake Your Faith blasts the listener with a guitar rock that will sound quite inviting to fans of groups such as Superchunk, Sugar, and Jawbreaker. A little punk rock, a little indie rock, and a whole lot of fun. You’ll rock out to songs influenced by everything from mental health, the New York school of poetry, the films of Akira Kurosawa, Seinfeld, novelist David Grossman, and the end of The Empire Strikes Back. Mostly, though, you’ll hear heartfelt songs that revolve around questioning yourself and a general sense of dislocation. Shake Your Faith will rock your body while making you think about the bigger picture of life and everything in it.