I've become a senselessly mumbling fanboy when it comes to Goosefair, the 1996 debut full-length from U.K. outfit China Drum. Always better late than never, but it does pain me to recognize that this masterpiece existed for a full 27 years before I heard it for the first time in late-2021, after a casual recommendation from my pal Matt at Divebomb Records. If I'm being honest, neither the band name nor the album cover instilled much confidence, but... the CD's readily available on Discogs for inexpensive prices, so what did I have to lose?
Not a damn thing! 15 songs, 47 minutes (excluding the blank space that precedes the hidden track—a cover of Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights," which apparently led to some early success, as is often the case) and it's just hit after hit after hit, my friends. Instantly, during opener "Can't Stop These Things," I knew right away, "Oh, wow, this is good. Like, really good."
Precisely how good, it did take some time to fully realize, but by the summer of 2022, Goosefair had fully cemented itself as one of my all-time favorite albums ever. Yes, that's right: I'm pushin' 50 years old, and this semi-obscure mid-'90s gem has wormed its way into my all-time Top 10—easily my most-listened album for the past three-plus years. It's reached that point of obsession where I'm tracking down B-sides, Japanese pressings, old promo packets... anything I can get my hands on!
Discussing their earlier years, I suppose you could classify China Drum as alternative rock that leans toward pop-punk. Atypically, though, and while they certainly possess a sense of humor, the vast bulk of their material is far more sincere and emotional than one might anticipate. The musicianship, too, strays beyond simple power chord rhythms—even riffs that seem simple on the surface are often deceptively intricate, layering a curious sheen of ringing melodies over roving bass lines and crisply zippy drumming—another mind-bender given that on this album, the drummer is also the vocalist!?
With its infectiously high-energy chorus, "Can't Stop These Things" was initially my go-to track—that split-second stop at 2:36 before the drums drop to half-time for a spell gets me every time—but over time it's been usurped by "Take it Back." Similarly singalong-ready, it's a bit more diverse and emotive—quirkier with the melodies, more active with the ambulatory bass work, and that quick descending slide into the second verse at 1:03 is another subtle detail that just kills me with each listen.
Also entirely mandatory is "Fall Into Place," another eerily sophisticated alt-pop-punk banger in the vein of "Take it Back"; and "Meaning" is just a goddamn tearjerker, man! Fuck. (Should you require a far more valuable cosign, the mighty Leatherface even covered "Meaning" as a B-side in 1994!)
But there's also "Biscuit Barrel," "Last Chance," "God Bets"... I'm telling you, 15 songs and every damn one's a keeper. There are really only two that I don't completely adore, but both are still quite fine and enjoyable tracks. And Goosefair just perfectly illustrates why I'm such a psycho music freak who burns money on a stupid amount of CDs (and sometimes records and tapes) every week: because there are albums like this out there, and I haven't heard them yet, so I need to find them!
I don't want to ignore the rest of the China Drum discography, either. I enjoy all of their work—1997's Self Made Maniac is also quite strong—and iterations of the group have still been releasing worthy tunes as recently as 2023. They toured the U.K. with Green Day in 1994, shortly before Green Day exploded in popularity, and for my money—at the very least—China Drum should've been the U.K.'s Green Day. Goosefair did land at #53 on the U.K. charts, but... man, they should've been huge. Damn. The Goosefair era is just lightning-in-a-bottle perfection. From now until the day I die, I'll be yelling and screaming its praises to anyone who's willing to listen...
(Which you can do through YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, all three physical formats... just fuckin' check it out, please, okay!?)
