Singles Spotlight:
The Goods –
“Summer’s Almost Gone”

Hello reader,

Welcome back, or welcome if this is your first visit to SWT.

How are you today?

I’m excited to discuss an Oakland, California group crafting some memorable earworms in the power pop world: The Goods. As the bio for the band’s self-titled EP notes, “Singer-songwriter Rob Good is a veteran of the Oakland underground, having played the sideman in stalwart Bay Area outfits such as Sob Stories, Cocktails, and Re-Volts. Good now steps center-stage to showcase a knack for clever songwriting and catchy melodies.”  It continues, “The Goods combine big guitars, huge hooks, and sweet British Invasion-style harmonies into a distinctive power pop tapestry on their debut, “’The Goods EP.’ Self-produced in the band’s own studio in Oakland, CA, The Goods’ debut EP draws on decades of hooky punk and power pop from the 1960s through the 1990s. The three song 7″ (with an exclusive fourth digital track) combines classic influences and timeless sounds with a fresh and playful energy. Avoiding retro-revivalism, The Goods’ music is earnest and unironic, with just enough grit and muscle to balance its sugary sweetness.” Be sure to listen to their 2023 EP debut. I can confirm that it’s a great time.

And before we get into today’s Spotlight, let’s explore the bio for The Goods’ full-length album debut, Don’t Spoil The Fun (2025), which paints a fantastic picture of the album: “Oakland power pop outfit The Goods arrive with their long-awaited full-length, Don’t Spoil the Fun. Recalling the jangle and melodicism of early luminaries like The Byrds and Big Star, with the punch and verve of 90s torchbearers like Teenage Fanclub and Matthew Sweet, The Goods adapt the hallmarks of the genre into a fresh and effervescent cocktail that sparkles with sincerity. Reverent of their influences but with a sound unmistakably their own, on Don’t Spoil the Fun, The Goods fulfill the promise of contemporary power pop with grace and panache.

Produced by songwriter Rob Good (also of indie pop darlings Ryli) in his own Oakland studio, the album’s 11 songs positively leap from the grooves, putting Good’s penchant for tight, clever songwriting and big melodic hooks on full display. The LP marks a great leap forward from the band’s debut EP, eschewing much of that disc’s punkish grit in favor of a sunny technicolor jangle, without sacrificing an ounce of their trademark energy. Joined by bassist Cherron Arens and guitarist Gabriel Monnot, Don’t Spoil the Fun finds The Goods embracing a fully-realized panoramic pop sound, where electric guitar arpeggios ring and vocal harmonies soar atop a bed of sprightly strummed acoustic guitars and bouncing basslines. The arrangements are snappy and assured, and earworms abound.

Running through the album’s lyrics are themes of fraught relationships – searching for, finding, and losing love and connection – but rather than wallowing or lashing out, Good’s perspective remains warmly empathetic…”

Looking towards the near future release calendar, we see that, on Wednesday, September 16th, via Oakland-based label Dandy Boy Records, The Goods’ newest full-length album, Goodbye Summertime, is out.

The Bandcamp bio for the upcoming album provides both great insight and hype including for the lead single, “Less than a year after releasing their debut LP, Oakland, California’s The Goods return with Goodbye Summertime—a record that finds songwriter Rob Good pushing the project into new territory, folding Beatles-esque psychedelia, jangling folk rock, sunny indie pop, and the melodic punch of classic power pop into something far bigger than what came before.

Produced by Good in his own studio—with contributions from Cherron Arens, Yea-Ming Chen, and Ian McBrayer—the record was conceived during a period of dramatic personal change and creative obsession. ‘My whole life turned upside down one summer,’ Good explains. ‘The long-term relationship I was in collapsed, and in the wake of that, I found new love. I was sorting through the grief and failure of my previous relationship and the bliss and anxiety of my new one all at once—all while basically living at my recording studio—and I found myself in an intensely creative state.’ The songs came fast. Good recalls, ‘I’d be experiencing some crazy high or crushing low, and I’d write a song about it and immediately record it. Many of these songs are real-time accounts of what I was going through in those moments.’

Lead single ‘Summer’s Almost Gone’—built around ringing guitars, soaring vocal harmonies, and a crunchy drum loop—captures the feeling of watching time pass by, offering a hopeful plea for what lies ahead while simultaneously warning that ‘there’s no more time to lose.’ Its counterpoint is the bittersweet ‘Minor Key’—a wistful farewell to what has already slipped away. Both songs, like the title of the record itself, invoke summer as a season emblematic of hope and promise while acknowledging its fleeting nature and the reality that not all promises can be fulfilled.

Across Goodbye Summertime‘s fourteen tracks, Good follows those emotional threads wherever they lead. From the Revolver-inspired haze of ‘Lazy’ to the Mellotron-soaked melancholy of ‘Punchbowl,’ the raw vulnerability of ‘Wing,’ and the slow-building crescendo of album closer ‘Sleepytime,’ the songs stretch further, the arrangements take more chances, and the sound reaches well beyond the power pop framework of earlier releases. The hooks are still there. So are the harmonies and jangling guitars that have defined the band from the beginning. What’s changed is the scope. It’s the work of a songwriter expanding his palette without losing sight of melody, heart, or the thrill of a perfectly placed hook.

But for all its musical ambition, the album is ultimately about something more personal. Heartbreak is woven throughout Goodbye Summertime, but it never lingers for long. Says Good, ‘There’s some pain in there, but there’s a lot of joy as well, and creating the record was a joyous experience. It’s about persisting through difficult times and finding a way to carry on. That’s what making this record helped me to do.’”

All that being said, ready to explore “Summer’s Almost Gone”?  It’s a title that is sure to elicit a response, perhaps negatively, if you’re reading and listening while Summer is still occurring and enjoying those sun-soaked moments. Or maybe you’re already over the heat and humidity and intense UV ratings and just want to see the leaves change colors and all that Fall (or Autumn) has to offer.  Wax poetic as you will.

I fell in love with this song from the first time I heard it. It is jangle-y pop in the best ways, not too sweet that it turns you off from listening, but it also takes you back to music of decades past. I think a lot of listeners will love this about the song and The Goods. Rob Good has an excellent vocal tone and is great at songwriting. I think the musicians and sound production staff that were assembled to make the song made it even better. I know that many of new fans will be made after reading this. Adding new songs to the playlists of their choice. Some adventure and road trips. As part of playlists that make routine work more tolerable and even enjoyable. Dance parties in the living room, doing the dishes, etc. The lyrics, vocals, harmonies, and melody in general combine a true warmth or sweetness with a bittersweetness, in a wonderful way. The result for me is a net positive; I’m not lingering in the past after listening. But rather grateful I heard this song and this new-to-me band. Listener, if that’s you, please explore more of The Goods and more of SWT’s Singles Spotlight series. We’re happy you’re here.

Take a listen for yourself.

Buckle up for a sunny day driving freeway adventure within the fantastic video for the song, “Summer’s Almost Gone” from a collab between The Goods and Dandy Boy Records YouTube channel:

(All credits and rights to both The Goods and Dandy Boy Records)

Take a glance at the cover art for Goodbye Summertime:

The track list for Goodbye Summertime:

1. Lazy
2. Love You More
3. Minor Key
4. Don’t Worry
5. Summer’s Almost Gone
6. Everything But You
7. Punchbowl
8. Driving
9. Wing
10. Ginger Rose
11. Dare Me
12. Make It
13. Waiting
14. Sleepytime

Alex M Theel

Co-Founder, Reviewer, Content Creator, Business side, Editor at Scummy Water Tower Productions | Web

Scummy Water Tower Productions co-founder, reviewer, business manager, and editor. Thank you for visiting this site, scummywatertower.com, and YouTube for Water Tower Sessions and SWT Interviews. And all of our socials.
Questions, feedback, or more? Contact me: alex@scummywatertower.com