Hailing from Northern England, the five-piece known as The Goa Express are gearing up to release their self-titled debut album, just ahead of the holiday season – on December 1st to be exact. Gift-seekers can also delight, for it’s not only going to be unleashed on the world digitally, but also on 12″ black vinyl. Just ahead of that (November 27th), they’ll be releasing the single ‘It’s Never Been Better’, a gloriously catchy lament to summer’s spent together.
Fortunately they’ve already dropped a few tidbits of sound for us to enjoy in the meantime – feast your ears on the latest from these whipper-snappers and enjoy their high-energy fun-loving videos. The band will also be touring in December (see UK dates below), well timed for the release of their much-anticipated eponymous album – the soundtrack to their bold, swaggering high-octane sonic youth.
The album itself is a reflection on growing up, their spirit of friendship and dreams of escape. Together, brothers James Douglas Clarke (Guitar + Vocals) and Joe Clarke (Keys), along with Joey Stein (Lead Guitar), Naham Muzaffar (Bass) and Sam Launder (Drums). Ocean Colour Scene’s Damon Minchella pairs with Tom Manning on production duties, the band decamping to the Welsh village of Raglan to record the songs that make up their debut album.
This exciting five piece’s bond was forged long before they picked up instruments: growing up in Burnley in the rural shadow of the North of England’s industrial centre. Their shared adolescent experiences (late gigs at The Golden Lion in Todmorden, camping underneath the cliffs at Hebden Bridge) shaped their collective friendships, and the sound and spirit of their band. With echoes of the the eternal supercharged melodies of early Supergrass, the unstoppable rhythms of early Psychedelic Furs or the loose dreamy melodic qualities of the La’s, yet theirs is a unique combination only captured by these five friends in a room and very much a sound of today.
Post-lockdown, The Goa Express played over a hundred UK/EU gigs in 2022, including stops at Glastonbury, Latitude and The Great Escape. With their status as burgeoning hometown heroes, The Goa Express can be seen performing to thousands at Burnley’s Turf Moor stadium in Bank of Dave, Netflix UK’s most watched film upon release week. With a cavalcade of refreshing tunes, and “us vs the world” togetherness, The Goa-Express’s debut album proves they are one of the most exciting emerging bands this country has to offer.
The Goa Express album can be pre-ordered at https://www.thegoaexpress.co.uk/products/the-goa-express-vinyl-lp and digitally at https://tge.lnk.to/THEGOAEXPRESS. Show tickets can be bought at https://linktr.ee/thegoaexpress
UPCOMING TOUR DATES
December 1 – Hebden Bridge – Trades Club
December 2 – Liverpool – EBGBS
December 3 – Birmingham – Muthers Studio
December 29 – London – The Lexington
MORE ADRENALINE FROM THE GOA EXPRESS
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