Daddy Long Legs - Goodnite Badnite

Daddy Long Legs

Goodnite Badnite
self-released; 2013

3.9 out of 5

By Ethan Skeleton 

Three guys and a pizza place, one upstairs loft studio and probably a couple bins of discarded PBR. This is the scene where Daddy Long Legs shelled out the goods that went into Goodnite Badnite. What these high school buddies captured has been blasted through small bars and corner shops all over Philly. To their credit, any city would be lucky to have this outfit parading the clubs, decidedly showcasing their extraterrestrial inspired work. With that in mind, their core sound is a good dose of back alley rock with drudge guitar, bare bones drums, and vocals the likes of Jim Morrison meets The Strokes. 

“Too True, Quiet” speaks the loudest and forms a definite single worthy status. All the elements line up in this one and you can almost taste the fuzz on the production. About midpoint there is a feel change that comes off a little jarring at first, but it has some great movement once the ear relaxes into familiarity. Marcus Kitchen’s vocals have a classic sound, almost like they’re being squeezed out of an old radio. There are some intriguing tones on “Our Flames, Flaming” – gives the impression of a nocturne from space. The guitars start to really tear it up on the track “Black Hole” showing the wild side of Daddy Long Legs. Scott Haldeman’s drums become chaotic, the shouts are aplenty, and so should be the praise. 

By “Milky” it’s safe to say that these guys want to drive the point home. The space theme is on so buckle up and stay tethered to the ship. Or not. For this album belongs to the safe as well as the floating. Ethereal keys pan from left to right, three point harmony glides in, the guitar softly feathers before pushing into a quick 1, 2 punch with the bass drum. The ride gallops between hits and the groove is poised to break against the shores of what was once a gentle pond. “Planetary Stomp” is the lone instrumental and it seems to speak the silence of space while provoking the desire for existing conversations in the cosmos. 

“Ring” comes off as possibly an acoustic track, but before long the crash of cymbals grab your attention, not without taste however as the 2 & 4 stay on the rims until the chorus. And the chorus sings with lovely instrumentation, the guitar shimmying in harmonic support. The drums announce their delivery and intention with focus and appropriation. The track that got my head bobbing right away was “Give Thanks.” Those loose strings chop so sweetly, the tambourine chiming in unison, the subdued drive of drums and the rounded phrasing of vocals. “Traversing Space” - this riff is a little Incubus, nice spacey feel, but the crafted articulation down the guitar neck creates a well-balanced melody on the verge of arpeggio. This is the constant characteristic holding the song like sweet glue to the chorus, which takes the sound to the stratosphere and narrows the notes from hills and valleys to bulleted chords. 

Closing off the album is “Terrafying”, a catchy rocker with doubled guitar hooks, dancing hats and great choice of vocal stressing “the great god, Mars” might just be the lyric that marks Daddy Long Legs as cosmic prophets. Maybe I’m looking too deep, but either way, it makes for one hell of a final message. And just to let you down easy, this track melts into a chilled jazz vibe before everything stops. So I hit repeat.

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