We're Not Talking

Last updated

We're Not Talking
The Goon Sax - We're Not Talking.png
Studio album by
Released14 September 2018 (2018-09-14)
Genre
Length29:53
Label
The Goon Sax chronology
Up to Anything
(2016)
We're Not Talking
(2018)
Mirror II
(2021)
Singles from We're Not Talking
  1. "She Knows"
    Released: 2 May 2018
  2. "Make Time 4 Love"
    Released: 17 July 2018
  3. "We Can't Win"
    Released: 23 August 2018
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic? 7.6/10 [3]
Metacritic 80/100 [4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Clash 7/10 [6]
DIY Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Dork Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Exclaim! 7/10 [9]
Loud and Quiet 9/10 [10]
Paste 8.4/10 [11]
Pitchfork 7.2/10 [2]
Under the Radar 7.5/10 [12]

We're Not Talking is the second studio album by Australian indie pop band the Goon Sax. It was released on 14 September 2018, by Chapter Music in Australia and New Zealand, and Wichita Recordings worldwide. [13]

Contents

Release

On 1 May 2018, the Goon Sax announced the release of their second album, along with the single "She Knows". [14] Band member James Harrison explained the single "I hope it makes people energetic and excited to listen to, it’s a song about losing hope, stubbornness and heartache. I’m not sure if it’s our saddest song, but maybe if you lock yourself in your room for a couple of days and only listen to it you might not feel so happy". The music video was released on 30 May 2018, and directed by Tia Wolf. [15]

The music video for the opening track on the album, "Make Time 4 Love" was released on 17 July 2018. [16] The song was featured on Under the Radar's Top 10 Songs of the Week on 20 July 2018. [17]

The third single "We Can't Win" was released on 23 August 2018. [18] [19]

On 20 February 2020, the music video to "Strange Light" was released. [20]

Critical reception

We're Not Talking was met with "generally favorable" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 80 based on 13 reviews. [4] Aggregator Album of the Year gave the release a 79 out of 100 based on a critical consensus of 14 reviews. [1]

Tim Sendra of AllMusic explained how the band spent time touring the world, whilst gaining experience to making a "more mature second record". He also noted: "The songs are bright and bold, the strings swoop in occasionally to lift the songs into the skies, and there's a refreshing lightness to everything that makes the still-somewhat-difficult nature of the subject matter go down more easily. They managed to build up and expand up their sound without losing the core of what made them special." [5] Clash gave the album a seven out of ten, saying "Something that immediately grabs you about this record is the production, which easily elevates it above its more naive sounding predecessor; the sound of new label Wichita making good on their investment. [6] Stephen Ackroyd of Dork gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, explaining: "Sweeping and swooning with the spirit of indie past, but never descending into generic laziness, The Goon Sax are the next wonders from Down Under. [8] Anna Alger of Exclaim! gave the album a seven out of date noted how the band have had a "graceful ascent into adulthood", while explaining "It is jangly and playful, while offering sobering portraits of reflections on navigating relationships in all their complexity." [9]

Accolades

Accolades for We're Not Talking
PublicationAccoladeRank
Loud and Quiet Loud and Quiet's Top 40 Albums of 2018
34 [21]
Under the Radar Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2018
92 [22]

Track listing

We're Not Talking track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Make Time 4 Love"2:09
2."Love Lost"3:05
3."She Knows"2:32
4."Losing Myself"2:45
5."Somewhere in Between"1:02
6."Strange Light"3:22
7."Sleep EZ"3:02
8."We Can't Win"3:15
9."A Few Times Too Many"2:59
10."Now You Pretend"1:18
11."Get Out"2:19
12."Til the End"2:05
Total length:29:53

Personnel

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  16. "The Goon Sax - Make Time 4 Love (Official Music Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  17. Roberts, Christopher (20 July 2018). "10 Best Songs of the Week: Wild Nothing, The Love Language, Tomberlin, Tunng, and More". Under the Radar . Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  18. "The Goon Sax Share 'We Can't Win'". DIY . 23 August 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  19. Roberts, Christopher (24 August 2018). "The Goon Sax Share New Song "We Can't Win"". Under the Radar . Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  20. Murray, Robin (20 February 2020). "The Goon Sax Share New Video For 'Strange Light'". Clash . Retrieved 6 October 2020.
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