7/10

Tim Cawley has never been shy about dreaming big, but 'sillygoose' converts that restlessness into nine songs that swagger, self-deprecate, and ultimately soar. What began as a few carefree keyboard sketches became an all-out Abbey Road sprint, complete with A-list session heavyweights and a level of production detail that dares you to call it over-the-top.

The opener 'Blissful Absolutely' wastes no time setting the agenda; pushing past the sensible, saluting the ridiculous, and seeing what shakes loose. Guitars slash, pianos sparkle, and Cawley’s vocal pivots from sly grin to full-throated declaration. It’s an embrace of artistic audacity that manages to be both cheeky and strangely moving.

From there, the record ricochets through moods with the glee of a kid let loose in a fireworks warehouse. 'Out With A Bang', the seed from which the album sprouted, leans on fizzy synths and a bouncing bass line that feels ripped from the soundtrack of a midnight joyride. 'Sister Agnostic' cheekily flips Night Ranger’s morality tale on its head, letting its rebel alter ego stomp through a chorus that’s pure fist-pumping catharsis.

Mid-set breather 'Simplify?' poses a rhetorical question as layers of vocal harmony stack higher than the argument itself, and then promptly undermine it with prog-pop twists that prove complexity can still hit like a hook. Not far behind, 'Handsome Devils Running Slightly Wild' funnels Cheap Trick flash and QOTSA heft into one of the year’s most satisfying guitar crescendos.

If there’s a mission statement tucked inside the tracklist, it’s 'Feel > Explain'. Cawley plants his flag on the side of instinct, letting dynamic peaks and valleys do the intellectual heavy lifting. By the time the meta-anthem 'In Defense of Low Art' barrels in, you understand that 'sillygoose' isn’t just poking fun at highbrow gatekeeping; it’s detonating it.

'sillygoose' succeeds because it never forgets that daring ideas still need bulletproof melodies, and bulletproof they are. Cawley’s knack for stitching earworms to brainy conceits means the record clicks whether you’re breaking down its references or just blasting it with the windows down.

Call it indulgent, call it fearless; just don’t call it safe. Like the swaggering grey-lag that inspired its name, 'sillygoose' struts with unapologetic confidence, honking loudly for anyone who’ll listen. Sometimes the craziest gambles pay off in pure, unfiltered joy; The Flashpot Moments just turned that truth into half an hour of technicolour rock-and-roll bravado.