#*swish*

hannah: whoa, easy there, big fella!

francine: *knocking on the door* what's going on? what's all this yelling?

hannah: nothing, fran!

Good Game - *Swish*

It's generally pretty hard to be impressed by music these days, with much of popular music revolving around variations of the same structure that's been used for the past 20 years and on.  But this is not the case with Good Game. In fact, this music goes beyond merely "impressive"; each song put out by Good Game is jaw-dropping.  And, as if this were not enough, it's a solo-project. Coming from Downingtown, PA, Brock Benzel plays guitar and sings, completely solo, on this incredible debut album.  Knowing Brock Benzel as the drummer of Panucci's Pizza (another local West Chester band), I never would have thought that he'd be a guitar wizard... but he is, and it's insane.  The guitar work is a flurry of franetic math-rock twinkling with chords thrown into the already complex time signatures, producing a complex emo sound that should be impossible without a loop pedal.  Except, here's the kicker: he is actually doing this without a loop pedal and he is singing over top of it simultaneously.  The singing itself is a pleasantly alternative style of vocals, very similar in tone to math rock bands of similar orientation.  They are smooth and polished, yet still very human in nature, allowing his natural flaws to remain in the recording, and it's beautiful.  The lyrics are extremely sad, but full of philosophical insight that hints at a better time ahead of moving on.  His word-choice is also refreshingly intelligent, which adds both to the depressing element and philosophical element of Good Game's mood as a whole.  The song names also combat the serious tone of the songs.  With names like "Cheating the NASA Space Physical" and "http://www.harlemglobetrotters.com/harlemglobetrotters", you'll find yourself laughing at each of the hilarious titles despite the sad nature of the actual songs themselves.  Overall, the inventive sound produced by Good Game is one of next-level math rock that is sure to shock every ear it reaches.  Good Game has put out an astonishing debut album in "*swish*" that shows you where creative music is going, and leaves the listener with nothing to say, except "ggwp, m8."