Over the next two weeks we’ll be counting down our 10 favorite records released in the Pacific Northwest in 2011. Follow along! –

#7. My Goodness – s/t

If notable echoes of Seattle’s musical history as a rock town exist, it is surely in the persons of Joel Schneider and Ethan Jacobsen who make up My Goodness. More mutant blues than anything else, My Goodness is certainly hard rock but not “grunge,” stylistically and topically drawing further back to Seattle’s original rockstars the Sonics. Like the Sonics debut 45 “The Witch” did for 1964, in 2011 with their self-titled debut out on Sarathan Records My Goodness are setting a high bar for local rock.

The unglamorous portraits of the young and stupid painted in My Goodness is a refreshing and sometimes ugly sight. Starting off the record is a triad of do-wrong songs “Blackout Baby,” “Cmon Doll” and “Cold Feet Killer.” All portray the shitty moment where object of affection transitions to an object of scorn. On this record the object of affection is in every case undeniably a woman. It isn’t entirely happy material and the knife edge of Schneider’s guitar tells that tale as much as the lyrics. Out of that world populated with party weary souls searching for escape, conniving women, and steadier relationships with a bottles than people “Let Me Free” captures a rare sober moment as our protagonist begs “I keep this mess going strong, for that alone come please help me.” Immediately following on “I’ve Got A Notion” the frustration reaches a boil as Schneider screams “Did you find another lover? One that’ll treat you nice? I could have kept them all believin’, that you’d found your Mr. Right.” This is the sound of crashing breakers of testosterone as the tide comes in. Schneider’s words and delivery progress later in the record toward contemplations, but the heat and the raw ‘blues’ in his voice never completely dissipates.

Throughout Schneider’s vocal delivery is gritty and unaffected and his muscular guitar slashes through Jacobsen’s hurricane of cymbals, floor toms and bass drum. For this record alone Jacobsen deserves a nod for 2011′s best local drumming performance; he’s so big, you could be forgiven for thinking this band has two drummers per current trends. Uh-uh. This is just one guitar and one drummer. One of the biggest selling bands in America right now prove it a robust formula, and it’s an arrangement that’s certainly working for My Goodness.