Album Review: “Get Busy Living” by Goldfish

Goldfish's album has been taking the U.S. by storm

By Tom Roth

Goldfish
Get Busy Living
Goldfish Music
2010

Search “Die Antwoord” on Google’s trend-tracking portal, Trends, and you’ll quickly find that the South African dance duo – with invites to Letterman and billboards around New York – are a hot topic in the United States.

Run a similar search for Die Antwoord’s South African compatriots, Goldfish, and you’ll be left floundering. Goldfish, it seems, has been passed over by the virility which has been so providentially bestowed upon Die Antwoord and while the humble pixels of this publication are no venue for theorizing on the origins of said virility, it is a pretty good place to communicate one nugget of truth: Goldfish makes people want to dance.

The group’s latest full length release, 2010’s Get Busy Living, is a foot-tapping catalyst riding on the strengths of Goldfish’s members, David Poole and Dominic Peters. Their ingenuity in blending electronica and live instrumentation to create an amalgam of dance, jazz, and African influences comes through on highlight tracks “Crunchy Joe” and “We Come Together”. On the latter, swaying verses are punctuated by a can’t-get-it-out-of-your-head refrain accented with a clever piano sample that would be right at home in some smoky speakeasy. The track’s music video is not to missed. Anything that incorporates Keyboard Cat, an exploding Kenny G, and Meowth deserves a proper viewing.

Emily Bruce’s guest appearance on the single, “Get Busy Living” provides a Motown-by-way-of-Cape Town hook that has spawned a spate of remixes, four of which are featured on the single release. However, the track needs no adaptation to be considered “dancey”. In its original form, “Get Busy Living” could fit into the repertoire of dance club DJ’s worldwide.

For more on Goldfish and to purchase “Get Busy Living”, visit www.goldfishlive.com.