The Good The Bad - From 001 to 017

The Good the Bad, an instrumental rock band from Denmark, "Would like to share the new school surf & flamenco with you." So it goes on The Good The Bad's MySpace page, a statement which I'm sure has confounded many of their prospective fans. This album of muscular, 70s guitar music sounds like the band have been deeply influenced by Quentin Tarantino's soundtracking of Pulp Fiction. They're like Dick Dale, but not as good.

There's just something lacking in this album; it sounds like their singer failed to show up to the recording session. The music is disciplined and effective but it feels derivative and the songs can come across as being self-indulgent and inarticulate. The music may be technically impressive but the lack of a vocals means that the songs lack emotional depth or resonance. The group have made an excellent b-movie soundtrack but a mediocre album. However, in saying that, this music will work better in a live context. Maybe the group should audition for a singer or contact a film production company; or maybe they should just continue to live out their erotic, 70s rock fantasy by playing in rowdy, bluesy venues around Europe.