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Album Reviews
Album Review: Zoey Van Goey – The Cage Was Unlocked All Along (Left In The Dark Records)
By CMU Editorial | Published on Tuesday 11 August 2009
Comprising an Irishman, an English woman and a Canadian, this Glasgow-based band may sound like the start of a joke of questionable taste; though, while lacking the potential to offend, Zoey Van Goey do still raise the smiles, like some mutation of The Decemberists, Belle And Sebastian and a Care Bear. Sweet boy/girl vocals offer melodic delicacies over soft strums, though there’s also a dark edge that’s only apparent after several listens. It’s there though, and it haunts through the vibrant bopalong of ‘We Don’t Have That Kind Of Bread’ and ‘Sweethearts In Disguise’, giving depth to a record otherwise simple and childlike. Elsewhere, there’s a host of ideas beyond folk pop. Things are most joyous in this regard on ‘Foxtrot Vandals’, like Rilo Kiley before they lost interest, with Stuart Murdoch’s production as enthusiastic as could be hoped for. ‘Two White Ghosts’ is special too, embracing the aforementioned cute, carefree nature with a line like “we had no other plan, so we taught English in Japan”. It’s the perfect debut record – concise and considered, sweet and simple. And easy for anyone to love. It’s for the children, for the grown ups and for the indie kids in between. TM
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