Derek Lee Goodreid: “FEEL IT!” possesses a rural, rustic and swampy charm
Starting off fifteen years ago as a confessional to music for Australian songwriter Derek Lee Goodreid, his music over time matured into a romantic melodic folk storytelling with Americana leanings. Nowadays Derek is rocking out with a more blues and upbeat rockabilly influence and showing off his howlin’ vocals. His new album “FEEL IT!” is the follow up to his critically acclaimed “God, The Devil and I”. The positive thing about this album is: It is not what you hear on the radio today. The negative thing is: It is not what you hear on the radio today! This is a throwback to what used to be good in blues and roots Americana music. Each song takes you to a place that you may have been before. You may have not lived the exact experiences the song speaks about, but you sure have had the feelings the song provokes. Here you’ll get the emotionally charged lyrics you’d expect from this prolific songwriter backed up a voice that screams of raw talent.
If you are looking for down to earth rough n’ ready music then look no further. No over-produced, pop here. This is music written for music lovers. Not music written for mass appeal, TV shows, or teeny bopper dollars. “FEEL IT!” is true down to earth, home grown, from the heart music.
Goodreid’s songs are very deep and emotional and sometimes that is just what a person needs. His music will trigger emotions in you that you didn’t know were there anymore. I can only describe his sound as a little bit of time-honored blues and a little bit rock and roll with a touch of indie and rockabilly.
Every song on this album is tremendous, as Goodreid moves from the visceral electricity of the opening title track, “Feel It!”, to the acoustically strummed album closer, “Don’t Let That Sun”.
Like its predecessor, this album is marked by casual virtuosity, with Derek Lee Goodreid pulling together a range of moods and stylistic tropes while maintaining an organic, unified sound. Only this time around it sounds more raw and real. And it is within this framework that Goodreid slyly asserts just how much he’s capable of.
He could have made an entire album that cashed in on the sounds of his previous releases, but he doesn’t. He certainly remains compelling when he keeps things slow and hushed, like on the pained ballad “Rosita”, but he sounds just as comfortable howling over prickly blues-rockabilly on “Damned” and “Thief”, or showcasing his storytelling abilities on “Prietess”.
These are all songs that subtly expand his aesthetic without leaving anything behind. Every track here takes hold of a familiar theme or trope, and every one sounds totally different from the last.
There’s also a ruminative side to Derek Lee Goodreid that can be acutely powerful, and it comes through on tracks like “Fallout Avenue”, “You Are No One Until The Wolves Dine On You” and “Fan The Flames”. On the whole, “FEEL IT!” possesses a rural, rustic and swampy charm that brings the songs closer to the vanguard Americana roots music Goodreid seems to be so successfully aiming for.
