It’s always a total fucking shame when a great young band full of potential breaks up before they have achieved what they desire most: any bit of notoriety or success. Such is the story of This Is Goodbye who, in their wake, left behind a document of their time together so powerful as to bring them back together again.

The saga of This Is Goodbye is one that begins with the endings of several great Memphis bands — among them Dora, U.S. Sunday, Square State, and Fireworks Over London. At the intersection of all these breakups, changes in plans and what not came This Is Goodbye, a band whose influence at the hands of Radiohead, Jeff Buckley, U2, and Sigur Ros is worn proudly in the life of the songs on their EP Shapes & Numbers. After playing around our fair city to alternatingly huge and small crowds, the band entered into a production deal and began work on these recordings. This Is Goodbye, through time and circumstance, recorded much of the EP hidden away at Memphis Records/Young Avenue Sound, but internal conflicts and business issues brought production of the recordings to a screeching halt. Inevitably, the band went the way it seemed destined to go based on the history of its members and they disbanded in 2005.

Cut to 2006, where an independently-produced film called Act One is released to critical acclaim, winning the Indie Memphis Film Festival , attracting the attention of the Hollywood community and garnering a powerful following among filmmakers and movie goers. The soundtrack to the film was shaped by two of This Is Goodbye’s primary members, Landon Moore and Wil Deshazo. The music from the This Is Goodbye sessions feature prominently in the movie, adding immense depth and texture to the film’s soul-searching premise.

The success of the film and, ultimately, recognizing (through the urging of friends and loved ones often) what they had walked away from have brought the members back together, though for how long no one is sure. One thing, however, is certain: the music made by This Is Goodbye proves potent and phenomenal, a complete lack of fear that came from complete concentration. There is a certain raw undercurrent of emotion in the voice of lead singer Seth Hendricks, a desperation that at times seems both saddening and empowering. At times, he’s Thom Yorke. At times, he’s Jeff Buckley. At times, he even resembles Kele Okereke of Bloc Party. But regardless of the influence, the end product is completely its own. This Is Goodbye have captured a sound on Shapes & Numbers that I need to hear in order to feel like I’m alive, an inspired symphony of heartbreak and hope that casts no shadows and takes no prisoners.

If you’re in Memphis tonight, you can catch Seth Hendricks and Chris Faulkner performing an early show at The Vault on Highland (around 9pm), then head over to The Hi-Tone straight afterwards. This is probably a chance to see them at what may well be one of their only live shows for the time being, appearing alongside another fantastic up-and-coming band The United at The Hi-Tone. Come see the heartbreak and the hope and be one of the fortunate few.

Listen to This Is Goodbye – Italy

You can purchase the EP Shapes & Numbers from the band’s MySpace Page by clicking here. They perform May 27th at The Hi-Tone in Memphis With The United and Square State @ 10pm.

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