Wasn't the biggest fan of Miracle Pill, so this is a refreshing / promising start. Looking forward to this one now!
Really catchy stuff. I've always loved their mid/late 90's work but haven't really latched onto any of their albums mid-2000s and later. I'll always check out a new release from them regardless.
It’s clear they can never get back to great art (Superstar through Gutterflower) again, so I was glad to find them in a groove with well/crafted pop on Miracle Pill. Hope this continues it.
i massively long for that SSCW - Gutterflower era. There was an ember of their past self on Let Love In with "Stay With You" but it's been just... something very different since then. I've been listening to the new album some tonight and im ... i dont know. It's just ok... the best song on the album that has the tiniest hints of their past life is "War." Also not a fan of naming their closing track "Superstar" because I feel like as a long time goo fan that is suuuuuuch a loaded term haha. The thing that really bothers me about the album is the drumming is just so mediocre. Ever since they kicked Mike out of the band the drums have been garbage- nothing inspired or remotely original. Hell, the one song that I gravitate to "War" even carries most of the same drum pattern as "Stay With You." Maybe that's why I like it. I wish they would do one of those album residencies where they play Hold Me Up through Gutterflower for a week. I'd pay fucking $500 easy to go see that shit.
Honestly they’ve never been a particularly good live band either. I saw them play Dizzy Up the Girl front to back and it was solid.
eh, I dont know if compleeeeetely agree with that... certainly do think that about them now though. I have tons of bootleg shows from 90's era and while not perfect they were really solid and sounded like they were having a ton of fun. I saw them on the heels of A Boy Named Goo and then saw them multiple times around the Dizzy Up The Girl era. They were still solid when they were playing the medium venues (a la hard rock) for Gutterflower. Somewhere along the way, probably right after Gutterflower they made this transition to being a summer circuit band, and just toured these outdoor venues all summer long. I last saw them probably 12 years ago outdoors in Houston around August and it was miserable, and I'm not doing that again. And I also felt like "oh this has run it's course" which hurts my soul
Magnetic was the last record of theirs that stuck with me, but I liked this a surprising amount on first listen.
I've seen a fair amount of video and I saw them on the Gutterflower tour and while you're right they did have fun, they were always sloppy and couldn't reproduce the sound of the album live. And Johnny hasn't been able to sing "Iris" anymore since the turn of the century. So when you don't start as an overly great live band, you get your big break older, and then you have the usual decline, it's not pretty.
this is the first thing in many, many years they are doing that excites me Track list Disc: 1 1 Girl Right Next to Me (Soundcheck) 2 Impersonality (Soundcheck) 3 Two Days In February (Soundcheck) 4 Another Second Time Around (Soundcheck) Disc: 2 1 Name (Soundcheck) 2 Don't Change (Soundcheck) 3 Naked (Soundcheck) Disc: 3 1 Introduction (Live At The Academy, New York City, 1995) 2 Just The Way You Are (Live At The Academy, New York City, 1995) 3 Burnin' Up (Live At The Academy, New York City, 1995) 4 Fallin' Down Again (Live At The Academy, New York City, 1995) 5 Million Miles Away (Live At The Academy, New York City, 1995) 6 Lucky Star (Live At The Academy, New York City, 1995) 7 String of Lies (Live At The Academy, New York City, 1995) 8 Impersonality (Live At The Academy, New York City, 1995) Disc: 4 1 Long Way Down (Live At The Academy, New York City, 1995) 2 Only One (Live At The Academy, New York City, 1995) 3 Already There (Live At The Academy, New York City, 1995) 4 Naked (Live At The Academy, New York City, 1995) 5 Name (Live At The Academy, New York City, 1995) 6 So Outta Line (Live At The Academy, New York City, 1995) Disc: 5 1 Eyes Wide Open (Live At The Academy, New York City, 1995) 2 Another Second Time Around (Live At The Academy, New York City, 1995) 3 Up Yours (Live At The Academy, New York City, 1995) 4 Stop the World (Live At The Academy, New York City, 1995) 5 Flat Top (Live At The Academy, New York City, 1995) 6 Two Days In February (Encore) [Live At The Academy, New York City, 1995] Disc: 6 1 Slave Girl (Encore) [Live At The Academy, New York City, 1995] 2 Don't Change (Encore) [Live At The Academy, New York City, 1995] 3 Girl Right Next To Me (Encore) [Live At The Academy, New York City, 1995] 4 Impersonality (Encore) [Live At The Academy, New York City, 1995] 5 Naked (Encore) [Live At The Academy, New York City, 1995] 6 Never Take The Place Of Your Man (Encore) [Live At The Academy, New York City, 1995]
I wonder if Lance Diamond came out to play that last song with them. This is one of my favorite eras of Goo. Only wish is that they included Cuz You're Gone/1000 Words or We Are The Normal. But the fact they released Stop The World as the lead track to promote this is killer cool
Oh hell yes. That's back when their sound was still able to translate well live, so I suspect this will be awesome.
While I've not listened to anything new of theirs since 2006, I admire the work ethic and regularity of output. Any albums since the worth checking out?
Hmm I think the last 2 albums Miracle Pill and Chaos in Bloom are great albums but I agree their work ethic is insane!!
Went on Spotify to listen and couldn't believe they have 33m monthly listeners, Iris effect clearly with 2.5bn streams. Song is nice, quite summery.
Another new Goo Goo Dolls song has been released!! There's gotta be some new album announcement incoming as somepoint soon
August 1, 2025 (New York, NY)-Summer Anthem, the new EP from GRAMMY-nominated rock band Goo Goo Dolls, is set for release on August 22 via Warner Records. Consisting of 7 tracks, Summer Anthem is a precise, hard-hitting project, featuring the type of vivid lyricism that’s led the band to becoming one of the most influential alternative rock groups of all time. In conjunction, the group debuts their heartfelt track “Not Goodbye (Close My Eyes)” alongside an accompanying lyric video. Written byJohn Rzeznik and produced by Gregg Wattenberg (John Legend, Santana, Noah Kahan) and Grant Michaels (Weezer, Billy Idol, Jewel), “Not Goodbye (Close My Eyes)” reflects on the fading nature of life and the quiet clarity that comes with letting go. Of the song, Rzeznik says, “‘Not Goodbye (Close My Eyes)’ is a song about accepting the inevitability of mortality and how life is constantly in flux.” SUMMER ANTHEM TRACKLIST Ocean Nothing Lasts Forever Slightly Broken Misery Such A Mystery Run All Night Not Goodbye (Close My Eyes)