The Goldberg Sisters is the musical pseudonym of actor and director Adam Goldberg, who you probably know best from his roles in Saving Private Ryan, Dazed and Confused, and Friends. As diverse as his acting roles are, he always seems to have this magnetic intensity that’s hard to ignore. His latest project is a diverse album of ten tracks consisting of bright moments of pop bliss surrounded by shimmery psychedelia and the more than occasional unforgiving look into the human psyche. The arrangements are more than a nod to The Beatles’ and John Lennon’s solo work. His timbre has a little bit of a nasal quality akin to John’s, and there were even skits with the same spooky sounds of records played in reverse, the repeated words “number eight”, and nervous giggles. It’s obvious that he’s being purposefully light and humorous (The Beatles favored “number nine”) in the skits, but the weight of the lyrics and emotion in his vocal delivery is extremely heavy. I find that most Beatles enthusiasts fall into one of two camps: the purists, and the nostalgics. The purists may eschew this project, finding it too similar to the point of being derivitave. But the nostalgics will enjoy it, and there are a lot of really incredible things happening on this record that are worth hearing. Be sure to check out his brand new music video for “Shush” below.

What’s really great about this record is the diversity of production, arrangement, and feel of every song. I enjoyed “Shush” a lot, especially the anthemic chorus. But for me, the real stand out track was the lush, angsty “Don’t Grow“. The ominous violin screech, what sounds like a pouch full of coins hitting the ground on every four beats, and the girlish female background vocals painted a pensive backdrop for Adam’s growing as the song reaches a heady climax. Right after the painfully slow outro comes the creepy, fuzzed out lullaby “Beautiful When You Die“. And directly after that is the tight, fast, and defiant “Erik Erikson” with hardly any vocal effects other than a surprise jump into the falsetto range. The album continues on in that fashion, and though I’d love to consider this particular artist solely in the musical sphere I don’t know that it’s possible. I have to wonder: in what capacity did Adam’s career in film influence his music? Is each song a different character’s story? Or is music his way to play out segments of his own life story in three to eight minute segments?

The Goldberg Sisters‘ eponymous album is now available on iTunes. There are no shows scheduled just yet, but there should be some in the near future! Be sure to stay updated on The Goldberg Sisters upcoming tour dates on Facebook and Twitter.