Good Spells – “All In”

Good Spells – “All In” – Single Review

There are very few artists and bands out there in the world that could rival the sheer amount of identity in what Good Spells creates.  If we’re talkin’ about consistency, this dude personifies it.  Whether it’s the work ethic, the steady production, or the sound itself, Good Spells never seems to waver in the mission to get his music out there into the world and bring more of what his fans love to their stereo systems.

In more ways than not, consistency is a freakin’ fantastic thing.  When you push play on a Good Spells song, you know the quality is always going to be there.  Dude’s dedicated his life to makin’ music in the Spells’ Lab, so it really shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to anyone following along that he’s got everything dialed in right down to the finest details when it comes to his production and techniques.  I’d also readily tell ya that, if you dig something you hear from Good Spells, chances are, you’ll dig it all.  This is not hyperbole – this is merely what I’m talkin’ about when I’m mentioning how consistent this guy is in the music he makes.  The amount of identity in what GS creates is seriously off the charts when it comes right down to it – how many artists/bands out there do you think you could really claim have a catalog of songs whereby if you like one, you’ll like’em all?  They honestly hardly even exist.  That’s facts.

That’s the positives, in a nutshell.  Where consistency can become a bit more problematic is found more within dedicated listening from the other side of the speakers.  While it’s certainly true that if you like something by Good Spells, you’ll more than likely like it all – it’s also fair to say that what he does is so defined that if you’re a regular listener to his tunes like I am, you know what’s coming.  I didn’t really have to push play on “All In” to know that I’d get the same framework of sonic depth that he always brings to his music, some vocals sprinkled in here & there, and tons of great ideas in the production that will fly over most people’s heads if they’re not actively involved in the craft themselves – these are all given elements & stuff we know is coming at us in a Good Spells track, even without hearing it.  So you end up looking at it all in a couple of ways…consistency is great in the context of knowing that no one could ever mistake what you do for what someone else does, but it can become a bit of a barrier to new creative breakthroughs and ideas if you’re not too careful.  I’ll put it to you this way…if someone was to make an argument that doing too much of any one thing is an indication of playing it somewhat safe, I’d listen to that.  Maybe not necessarily ‘safe’ so much as there are so many things that can be done in the art of making music, that you end up wondering what would potentially stop people from taking more chances or risks with their process, when deviation itself can lead to some serious artistic evolution and growth.  Good Spells has this uncanny ability to put us critics in the corner, where we’d have no choice but to objectively point out how technically flawless his songs like “All In” are, or his material IS overall, but I do think there’s always a way to look at the flipside of it and want a bit more in some other ways.

Like, I’d love to push play on a Good Spells track one day and feel completely blown away by something that surprised me, as opposed to nodding my head in approval thinking, ‘yep, there’s more of that thing he does so damn well’ – you feel me?  I’m in my what…fourth year of listening to GS at this point?  I have to really get the headphones strapped on to appreciate the subtle differences that would make one track different than the last, and like I was sayin’ earlier, most things like that tend to be missed by the masses.  Other artists in the field of Electro-based tunes, downbeat fans, or fellow producers – they would all love the monumental amount of effort this guy puts into every ticking second of his music, but I don’t think we can ever really assume that necessarily equates to accessibility.  “All In” undoubtedly has appeal to it – the same appeal you’d find all throughout the GS catalog, mind you – but it’s always so tough to assess whether or not the sound is so laidback & chill that it could thwart building excitement, you know what I mean?  I found a lot of the appeal of “All In” to me was based in the concept driving the song, the killer video put together to support it, and those tinier-but-more-unique inclusions like the ambient sound that comes into play with about a minute left to go in this single.  The rest, the sub-bass sound & downbeat aesthetic, the short verse of vocals & chilled-out beat, the music-as-a-spiritual-experience vibe, the relentless quality…I almost hate to say it, but all that amazing stuff is fairly expected of Good Spells at this point in his career, based on so much of what he’s shown us in the past.  It ain’t a bad thing – like I’ve been saying all along, this completely speaks to his impeccable consistency – it’s up to him to determine if he would really want to deviate from the path he’s put himself on, and whether there’s some value or benefit that could come from doing that.  I’ve always enjoyed what Good Spells creates, and “All In” is no exception to the high standards that GS keeps with his music in that regard…this guy has the kind of attention to detail most of us could only ever dream of having in anything that we do, and consistency even the best of the best practically never attain.

Find out more about Good Spells from the official site at:  https://goodspells.com

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