Laura Kerry
Michael Goodman, the New York-based musician who performs under his last name only, looks babyfaced in his press pictures and album covers, but the music he produces is worldly and fully formed. On “Hiccup,” his latest single from the forthcoming LP The Vicissitudes, Goodman exhibits a wise perspective: “Nothing that you wanted ever worked out like you planned / You stay awake and wonder why the world won’t lend a hand / It’s a little hiccup but we won’t get sore about it.”
From the first grinding guitar chords, though, “Hiccup” is all youthful energy. Throughout the power pop song, the dense combination of large drums, chorus claps, infectious post-chorus riff, and irresistible melody punctuated by vocal yelps grab you and wakes you up with a rhythmic shake. On “Hiccup,” Goodman makes a case that no hardship matters that much. With this new three-minute shot of fuzzy bliss, he proves it a compelling argument.