I sat down with Kenny Becker of L.A. indie rock quartet GOON, following the band’s first ever gig in the U.K.

For the past ten years, you’ve primarily been a studio-oriented band. A decade later, what’s led you into doing a headline tour?

I mean that’s a really good question. 2022 was the beginning of a very heavy touring phase for us where we opened for a lot of people, until now, basically. This record felt like (the right place to start). Its been a journey, for sure.

You’ve obviously performed in the U.S. many times, but this is the first ever show you’ve done in the U.K. Were you expecting anything different from the audiences here, compared to the States?

Well, I’ve talked to friends of mine that are also in bands in L.A. (or America, in general), and there’s (certain) things they’ll say: If you go tour in the U.K. or Europe, (audiences) take really good care of their artists there, and people are just more down for shows. People will go and see a show even if they don’t know who’s playing - that’s way more of a common thing. As this tour was getting closer, more people would tell me those exact same things, so I was anticipating that but not expecting it. What I was ultimately expecting was to just come here and play (to) empty rooms, so this was a very nice experience tonight.

In the U.S., how has the current political climate affected your outlook on live shows, touring, and in a creative sense?

I mean, it's not great. This sounds so cliché, but it really does feel true that this is the one thing I can put out into the world with the feeling of "maybe this can be enriching or someone can sympathize." And I feel like there's sort of a duty to do that. But yeah, it's pretty fucked up. It feels kind of silly to make music at all, but then it's like: "I'm gonna die anyways, I might as well just get some fulfilment out of it."

It's obviously quite well known that the Pixies will go from really loud sequences in songs to really quiet ones. Your song Patsy's Twin shares a similar feature. Was that intentional in any way?

Yeah, in a way. I knew that I wanted it to do that when I started it. (The Pixies) also do this really cool thing that less people talk about, which is phrases of three. The songs are in 4/4, but the chord progressions are equal spaces of 3 chords, and then they repeat. And that shit happens everywhere, they do it on so many songs. It's so simple, because you think, oh, I'm writing a song that's in 4/4, I need 4 chords.

Lou Reed famously said "One chord is fine. Two chords are pushing it. Three chords and you're into jazz". Despite The Velvet Underground and the Pixies being known especially for the minimalistic way they write songs, you can break apart their song writing in so many different ways and then you realise why they're so influential.

Totally. Simplicity's such an interesting thing in that way - I've always thought of song writing as a relatively simple process where you add one simple modifier and then maybe one more after that. And by doing three simple things, they all interact with each other and you end up with something that presents itself as much more complex.

You're known for singing in quite a high pitch and you've specified that this isn't a deliberate attempt to sound androgynous or make a certain point. Is there any aspect of your sound that is done for a specific purpose?

I wish I could say yes, but I honestly feel like most of what I do and come up with, tone-wise is just stealing from people that I like, you know? It's interesting, I almost feel like I've wanted to try to do that but I find I like I'm trying too hard at that point. I almost feel like a song like Patsy's Twin could have become this weird, pretentious mess if I had gone into it with that mentality. But instead, it just sort of happened.

For me, the song Angelnumber 1210 has a nostalgic quality to it. I was a teenager when I first discovered your band, and that song in particular reminds me of taking the bus through Manchester every day. Are there any songs that remind you of a specific place or time in your life?

Oh my god, yes. So many. I feel like I have to retire songs because I listen to them over and over. Not even (when they're) associated with a painful memory. The one that comes to mind is the song Return of the Mack. Do you know that one?

I fucking love that song.

It reminds me of being a kid and going to baseball games. I don't know that I even have a specific memory of going to a baseball game and hearing that but it really evokes this nostalgic, sunny day from a childlike perspective.

The song Closer To has been compared to Nintendo 64 soundtracks like Ocarina of Time, which is ultimately another form of media altogether. Do you ever take influence from other art forms?

Oh, yes: painting. When I'm talking about music or creativity, using painting terms can be a fun way to think about it. All the principles sort of apply in similar ways and they're very different, so sometimes their differences can be illuminating about the other, in a way. One (thing) that always stuck with me with drawing and painting: drawing is a process of correction. It's inherent to the process that you get it wrong, so then you can correct it. You'll never just make the drawing perfectly with no errors, that's fundamentally not how it works. And there's an interesting parallel with music.

Hipgnosis, the duo behind countless classic rock album covers, have previously discussed how they have a different perspective than most music listeners, because they hear the music itself and then create what comes to mind, rather than seeing the artwork first. Do you do employ a similar tactic?

Not every time, but with Dream 3, yes. When I started the band I started painting the album art. There was kind of this thought in my mind of, “if nobody remembers the name of the band, the record or any of the songs they can at least be like “oh the one with the red ladder on it”, or “the one with the rainbow on it.” It was a fun challenge.