Canyons and Locusts invite us to the chaotic world of ‘The Goal Gigolo’
Discordant concept record from the Boston + Phoenix melodic noise-rock duo comes to cinematic life on Friday, February 21
Storyline begins with unhinged lead singles ‘Anna Save A Life’ and ‘Day of the Canyon’
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“The duo of drummer Amy Young and guitarist-singer Justin Keane prove that a lo-fi rock sound can be the vehicle for high-concept material with a strong punch.” – WBUR, Boston’s NPR
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Canyons and Locusts
Boston, MA [February 21, 2025] – They say no one listens to albums anymore, and that may or may not be true. But the core of the conversation isn’t that audiences aren’t willing to invest in extended listening – because in the same realm, readers still devour novels and television viewers binge-watch full seasons – it’s that we stopped giving audiences a reason to listen, as extended nuance and layered emotion in storytelling has been replaced by short jolts of dopamine for the attention deficit economy. And each short dose comes with a hard stop, allowing the listener to escape and move on to something else.
Canyons and Locusts are perhaps the best fit to bridge the gap and rekindle the album listening experience. The Boston and Phoenix melodic noise rock duo, which releases discordant concept record The Goal Gigolo on Friday, February 21, straddle a presence on both sides of the music consumption debate, combining short punchy songs fit for the playlist-driven streaming era but packaged together in an overarching storyline that inspires repeated listens to fully absorb everything that’s furiously emanating from the speakers.
And like those chapters in a novel or episodes in the television show, each of Canyons and Locusts’ 10 songs on The Goal Gigolo, tabbed by WBUR, Boston’s NPR, as one of the most-anticipated New England records of the winter, point to the album’s storyline as a north star, developing a narrative path forward as the eponymous anti-hero comes to life in cinematic ways. It’s not exactly linear storytelling, but it’s no less gripping.
The follow-up to Canyons and Locusts’ 2024 album The Red Angel, dedicated to Justine Covault of the duo’s former label home Red on Red Records, The Goal Gigolo draws together several storytelling narrators underneath the duo’s unhinged wall of fuzzed-out rock and roll. It fully realizes an unfurling narrative from vocalist, guitarist, and bassist Justin Keane and drummer Amy Young that began in November with the release of the gritty, confrontational, and catchier-than-an-attitude lead single “Anna Save A Life” and last month’s anthemic, ebullient, and riff-fueled “Day of the Canyon.”
The two lead-in singles helped set a tone – through an adrenalized harmony that slings their chaotic cacophony of sound with relative ease – that revs up an economical 18 minutes of music across 10 spirited tracks. The album, which traces an ideological lineage back to Zen Arcade by Hüsker Dü and even Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street, with Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson as creative touchstones, is the story of a flawed protagonist, the eponymous character, who’s made some bad decisions and has gotten himself into trouble trying to help people in his new location. He’s got to go through some shit to get back on his feet again.
“Broadly speaking, The Goal Gigolo is the story of a guy who makes his living solving others’ emotional problems while trying not to get entangled with them romantically,” says Keane. “It’s set in the 1970s, so I guess we weren’t calling those people life coaches yet.”
And like most moments of inspiration, the seeds of the story first came to Keane in a dream.
“It sounds made up, but scout’s honor truth here – I had a really vivid dream about a guy named The Goal Gigolo, and the dream was very much sepia-toned and ‘70s feeling, so much so that when I woke up I slapped the details into ChatGPT for fun and asked it to come up with an imaginary show pitch. Then a couple of hours later I was like… wait… an ALBUM!”
The cinematic saga of The Goal Gigolo, like some kind of distant cousin to Robert Altman’s film The Long Goodbye, plays out like the latest hit Netflix drama we all binge-watch over a weekend and talk about with coworkers on Slack or Teams come Monday morning.
On “Anna Save A Life,” our protagonist was reaching out to a mysterious figure to assist him with his latest descent into the unpleasant, and bonafide ripper “Day of the Canyon” illuminates a few underlying messages through its lyrics, like the appearance of “starry eyes” (a hat tip to long-gone English power-pop band The Records) and a declaration of “we have arrived” (pulled both from conversational English but also The New Pornographers 2005 standout “The Bleeding Heart Show”).
Elsewhere, our anti-hero’s arc becomes clear: He goes through some dark nights of the soul in slow-burner “Moriarty The Serpent”; regroups at his new watering hole in punchy sing-along banger “Take Me Back To Lee’s” (a shout-out to Keane’s brother, nicknamed Lee); and ultimately goes after the ultimate villain in “Detain The Piano Man” (yes, that Piano Man). Add in the weathered grit of “Motorwall Oil” and wistful, but no less pummeling, album closer “It’s A Long Goodbye,” and Keane jokes that the full Goal Gigolo listening experience is something like walking through Bed-Stuy at night.
“It was Justin’s dream, but easy for me to connect with – the songs tell the stories,” Young adds. “It’s a journey, and watching journeys unfold is fascinating. It’s a movie that I see in my mind based on Justin’s words. I got to help add a soundtrack to this guy’s goings-on. What’s not awesome about that?”
Crafting a concept record didn’t change the approach or intent around this album, even with Keane in Massachusetts and Young in Arizona. Keane says the two holed up at New Alliance Audio in Somerville with engineer Ethan Dussault and banged out the recording with ease. The Goal Gigolo was produced by Keane and Dussault, and recorded and mixed by Dussault at New Alliance, with mastering by Nick Zampiello at New Alliance East.
“I feel like our approach is always to create and honor the moments each song brings for us,” Keane says. “From a writing perspective, this was definitely more linear than usual – from song to song, I was conscious of wanting to lay out the timeline of major events, such as they are. I am kind of a lunatic about this stuff and I have all these rules in my head like every album has to be a completely new thing from jump, but this time around I went back to some demos I had and figured out if any made sense to explore as part of this project – about half of the songs already existed in some form or another.”
Young, forever the thunder to Keane’s lightning, says the key to their creative relationship, which permeates within everything Canyons and Locusts create – from the music to the artwork to the visuals to whatever else – is based on an unbreakable chemistry that first formed together in their New York City bands of the 2000s.
“I listen to what he’s telling me,” Young says. “We’ve known each other and played together for a long time, so generally, I know where his core is at – the nature of where he’s coming from. If not, we’ll talk about it, and then it’s about thinking about how to bring that to life sonically -- but also not overthinking it because we leave a lot for the moment when we just play each song and let that give it a lot of its life. And that is really exciting. It starts with him bringing something to me, and then it becomes a glorious conversation.”
From here, 2025 will deliver something of a rare occurrence in the Canyons and Locusts universe – the emergence of the live show, with gigs lined up in Arizona in April. After that, the band returns to New Alliance in June to record another new album, this one called Power Hymns and Devotions.
Though for right now, it’s all about The Goal Gigolo – and the excitement of a band with lots to say and little interest in taking too long to say it. Most of the tracks on the record clock in at under two minutes in length, a hallmark of the band that often comes up in press coverage. To quote that Dead Kennedys song, “Rick Wakeman, eat your heart out.”
“Just turn it up loud and go for a ride with it,” Keane suggests. “This whole record really opens up with volume. What do I want people to get? I want them to know we just kicked the door down again. We’re not some one-trick, two-person pony band. And we’re still just getting started. Listen loud. Your hearing is the last sense to go.”
Media Contact: Please direct press inquiries to Michael Marotta at michael@knyvet.com, and reach Canyons and Locusts directly at canyonsandlocusts@gmail.com.
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Canyons and Locusts are:
Justin Keane: Vocals, guitar, and bass
Amy Young: Drums
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‘The Goal Gigolo’ album artwork:
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‘The Goal Gigolo’ production credits:
Produced by Justin Keane and Ethan Dussault
Recorded and mixed by Ethan Dussault at New Alliance Studio in 2023, 2024
Mastered by Nick Zampiello at New Alliance East, 2024
Music and lyrics by Justin Keane, Heavy Fuzz Music/BMI
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Canyons and Locusts short bio:
Canyons and Locusts are a two-piece band featuring Boston’s Justin Keane on vocals and guitar and Phoenix’s Amy Young on drums and backing vocals. Fueled by the chaos of the world and an urgent need to be part of the conversation, the two took the indie rock foundation they built together in previous bands, adding new levels of noise via pervasive, edgy guitar sounds, low and thundery drum beats, and vocals that capture a mix of emotions and power dynamics. The Red Angel EP, dedicated to Red on Red Records’ Justine Covault, was released in March 2024, and featured a quartet of singles in “Buck Dharma’s Eyes,” “To Art Bell,” “Soo All The Way,” and the Valentine’s Day release “Love Goes Down The Drain.” A new concept record titled The Goal Gigolo arrives in February 2025, led by the singles “Anna Save a Life” and “Day of the Canyon.”
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Media praise for Canyons and Locusts:
“Notable.” _Brooklyn Vegan
“The duo of drummer Amy Young and guitarist-singer Justin Keane prove that a lo-fi rock sound can be the vehicle for high-concept material with a strong punch.” _WBUR, Boston’s NPR
Canyons and Locusts are one of the best kept secrets in the Indie music world right now. Justin Keane’s voice is a thing of beauty, Amy Young is a hard hitting drummer, and the songs are brilliant.” _Steev Riccardo, Blowing Smoke with Twisted Rico Podcast
“Picking up where October’s furious ‘Buck Dharma’s Eyes’ left off, ‘To Art Bell’ is a hazy fever of gritty alt-rock and Midwestern college rock that clocks in at just over two minutes in runtime. And it’s not lost on the band that this chaotic and noisy tune is inspired, in part, by a radio host who’s timbre and cadence helped put listeners at ease.” _The Big Takeover
"Canyons and Locusts are one of the best kept secrets in the Indie music world right now. Justin Keane's voice is a thing of beauty, Amy Young is a hard hitting drummer, and the songs are brilliant." _Steev Riccardo, Blowing Smoke with Twisted Rico Podcast
“Another manic motherrocker from this duo who sound as a 4-motor hit-and-run band. As usual, amps way up and the volume to the max. Riff-o-rama all the way while bashing drums do your head in. Garage punk ‘n’ roll at its turbulent best. Call your own Anna and challenge the anti-decibels police. Sounds like far-out fun, right? You betcha.” _Turn Up The Volume
“Boston/Phoenix duo Camyons and Locusts have one of our favorite sounds out there today. If you’ve ever read Michael Azerrad’s excellent Our Band Could Be Your Life, you’re their target audience. ‘Day of the Canyon’ is more of their fuzzed out, early alternative (or college radio, in this case) sound. While they’ve always reminded me of bands like Husker Du and Guided By Voices, ‘Day of the Canyon’ particularly does. It’s an amped up noisy indie rock song with surprising pop hooks and an under two minute run time. It’s aggressive as it is catchy, and just when it sounds like Canyons and Locusts are going to let it explode... it’s over.” _If It’s Too Loud
“Of note…” _Stereogum
“Powerful, rifftastic, melodic…” _The Whole Kameese
“‘Anna Save A Life’... really embraces the layers of fuzz within their no-frills sound. From its opening barrage of muted guitar chords throwing out a pseudo-punky riff, the number promises great things, then as it explodes into a world of heavy fuzz bass and drawled vocals, the power in the duo’s brand of retro noise becomes truly apparent. As the song progresses, it becomes more about riffs than lyrical hooks, but manages to retain a sharp edge that’s more than reminiscent of classic garage punk sounds. On a basic level, this makes it the ultimate Canyons track, even if it’s only ever the boisterous edge that leaves an impression.” _Real Gone Rocks
“Canyons and Locusts ram it out in just a little more than two minutes. … Where the previous single ‘To Art Bell’ was a musically varied affair, the duo all but flies out of the bend in the road here [‘Soo All The Way’]. Anyone in the mood for some uncomplicated headbanging knows where to go now.” _WoNo Magazine
“In a flurry of fuzz and ferocious pummeling, Keane and Young are back at it again with barely two minutes of raucous Rawk that ends before it has a chance to get stale. Decidedly a little more chirpier than previous outing ‘To Art Bell’, ‘Soo All The Way’ is a crunchy number with Young laying out some percussive heft as Keane’s growly croon rattles around in your noggin long after the final chords ring out.” _Rock And Roll Fables
“[‘Love Goes Down The Drain’] is a fast paced, no punches thrown tune that shows the band letting their emotions run wild … It could best be described as an anti Valentine’s Day romp with a punk twist.” _Music Box Pete
“Packed with ample doses of throwback punk energy and a sneering-forward delivery, ‘Buck Dharma’s Eyes’ is everything you’d hope alluding to the BOC frontman, and everything you need to push through the artificial. It is an escape from the clean-cut, over-produced nonsense and exists confidently in its attitude. Laced with an energetic fervor, the two-minute single leaves me wanting so much more. But tis the season to be thankful for what we have.” _Nanobot Rock
“Canyons and Locusts’ new track ‘Buck Dharma’s Eyes’ brings back memories of the early 2000s. With the gritty guitar and equally gravelly vocal performance, you can imagine this tune introducing the latest coming-of-age blockbuster that will have teens and young adults lining up around the block.” _Indie Band Guru
“Canyons and Locusts do a lot with just two instruments and they've had a signature sound since the first single. Their newly released song ‘Buck Dharma’s Eyes’ has that sound. They've managed to keep things interesting with melody and lyric content and that’s the case here. We really want to read into ‘Buck Dharma’s Eyes’ but the lyrics don’t reveal anything specific. The repeated use of ‘amen’ also raises the stakes. The verses when read without the music almost seem like a meditation, a calming. Is the title just a way to get the word ‘dharma’ (cosmic order) into the song? It’s all intriguing.” _Boston Groupie News
“‘Buck Dharma’s Eyes’ initially leads with a fuzzy melodic tempting but soon reveals its garage punk instincts as Keane’s distinctive tones share their emotive contemplation. Already that pop catchiness is fuelling the track’s swing though, a listener involving courting simply adding greater potency to its aligning sonic discord and emotive anxiety. As a whole, ‘Buck Dharma’s Eyes’ is a track bound in thick infectiousness, its contagion of noise and melodic fire cast with a similarly organic trespass of enterprise which we for one were very quickly enamoured with.” _The RingMaster Review
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Press Contact: Michael O’Connor Marotta at michael@knyvet.com
Band Contact: Justin Keane at canyonsandlocusts@gmail.com
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