Cargo Records

Good Old War

The second self-titled album by Pennsylvania indie-rock trio Good Old War is at its lush heart, an album of immense growth.

A natural evolution from the band's debut Only Way to Be Alone (Sargent House), Good Old War radiates with warmth and vulnerability, both qualities undoubtedly cultivated by the band's hands-on self-production, and the environment of solitude in which the album was created. Holed up in a remote house in the Pocono Mountains through the white winter month of February 2009, Keith Goodwin (vocalist/guitarist), Dan Schwartz (vocalist/guitarist), and Tim Arnold (vocalist/drummer) coalesced into a dynamic harmonious unit, using their time in complete isolation to explore new approaches to their music-making process: they learned new instruments; they wrote about subjects like love, loss, and addiction; they explored musical conventions far outside indie-rock/folk territory. Good Old War's sophomore album doesn't just maintain the intricate vocal harmonies, infectious sing-along melodies, and pop-song writing foundation of Only Way To Be Alone, it expands them.

The results are a collection of songs that could translate from a living room to an arena without losing their heartbeat. Since their conception two years ago, GOOD OLD WAR has shared the stage with The Gaslight Anthem, Heartless Bastards, Anthony Green, RX Bandits and The Honorary Title.