PROGRESS AS DEFINED BY JOE IZENMAN >>>

Goldfinch. They are a band from Tacoma. They have released one, self-titled album, and this Saturday, the first A/B single from their forthcoming new record, Vacant Lot/Elephant, will enter the world in physical form.

(My editor tells me my first paragraph is supposed to actually inform the reader of my subject, instead of jumping into a random midpoint. So here we are.)

I have peculiar feelings about this single. I believe if these were the first songs I heard from Goldfinch, I would not love them like I do. I equally hold that, now having heard these songs, it's only made me love the band more.

The joy I get from the new single is the joy of change, of progress. I know I was not the only one who loved Goldfinch's first record, who listened to Go Easy On Me on a loop, day after day. And far too many bands who have inspired that kind of reaction will seek endlessly to duplicate it, until the fans get bored and the band fades away.

Not so Goldfinch. Every song as a duet was centered around the collaboration of Grace Sullivan and Aaron Stevens. From start to finish, it was about the fluid harmonies, the interplay of guitar and keyboard. Other instruments filled out the sound, but that was it.

Now Goldfinch is a band. Not simply Goldfinch plus backing musicians, but a proper band. There is a breadth and depth to the music that was absent from earlier material. However, there is a sacrifice of intimacy. There is less room in the cracks of the song for the listener to feel like he is in on the musical conversation.

It is a difficult trade-off, but an important and ultimately positive one. Goldfinch has long since proven that they can create music worth listening to. Now they go a step further, and prove that they can change, and grow, and it bodes well for the future of Tacoma music.