The project of singer-guitarist and songwriter Ben Curttright, The Goalie’s Anxiety At The Penalty Kick is a Philly indie-orchestral collective that began making music together in 2018 but didn’t release their debut album until the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, in October of 2020. WAYS OF HEARING was a stirring and emotive album, full of poetic introspection and dynamic arrangements indebted to Sufjan Stevens and Andrew Bird, as well as contemporaries like Florist and Told Slant.
The band is named for a 1970 novel by Austrian author Peter Handke that was adapted into a Wim Wenders film in 1972; to further underscore its literary / cultured leanings, the band just announced its newest album, The Iliad and the Odyssey and The Goalie’s Anxiety At The Penalty Kick.’ It comes out April 25th via Count Your Lucky Stars Records, and can be pre-ordered here.
The two singles released from the album truly own The Goalie’s epic scope: the yearning lead single “April 25,” sung by keys player Becky Hanno, stretches meditations on love and disonnection out over five minutes; the follow-up, “Michael Foster,” is sung by bassist Michael Foster and approaches seven minutes in its exploration of desperation and frustration.
Listen to both songs in the player below and follow The Goalie’s Anxiety At The Penalty Kick on Instagram at @thegoalieband for more on their album rollout and show plans.