Good Old War

There was nothing simple about Days Away, the epic, progressive rock band that was a fixture on the post-hardcore circuit throughout the naughts. But when the group broke up in 2008, singer/guitarist Keith Goodwin and drummer Tim Arnold announced a total about-face: Good Old War. Influenced by far more basic...

By Jason Heller

May 27, 2010

Audio By Carbonatix

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There was nothing simple about Days Away, the epic, progressive rock band that was a fixture on the post-hardcore circuit throughout the naughts. But when the group broke up in 2008, singer/guitarist Keith Goodwin and drummer Tim Arnold announced a total about-face: Good Old War. Influenced by far more basic artists like Bob Dylan and Simon and Garfunkel, the folksy trio is as stripped down and stark as Days Away was melodramatic and atmospheric. To its credit, though, the threesome's new, self-titled disc fleshes out its skeletal folk framework with piano, accordion and Goodwin's sense of drama and grandeur. Even played out on a humbler and quieter scale, his moody Americana feels accomplished, immaculately crafted and larger than life — even if now there's a whole lot of empty space up there on stage.

Jason Heller is a staff writer at Westword. He's the author of the book Strange Stars: David Bowie, Pop Music, and the Decade Sci-Fi Exploded (Melville House/Penguin Random House), and has contributed to the New Yorker, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and NPR.org. His work has won a Hugo Award and a Colorado Press Association Award.

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