Mike Goodrick Turns Mixed Signals Into Catchy Pop-Punk Hooks on “Try”

Phoenix, AZ — If “Songs I Still Skip” marked Mike Goodrick’s return to original music after more than 15 years, “Try” shows that return gaining momentum. Released July 31, this Phoenix artist’s latest single pairs bright pop-punk hooks with lyrics rooted in mixed signals, emotional uncertainty, and the perspective that comes with looking back.

Play “Try” on YouTube

“‘Try’ is about being treated like someone’s almost. The person who got the late-night calls, the mixed signals, the big feelings, but not the commitment. Then they turn around and give someone else everything they said they weren’t ready for.” – Mike Goodrick

Alongside his original songs, Goodrick performs emo and pop-punk favorites at intimate venues across Arizona several times a week. He launched the all-request series Acoustic Emo Night in the Valley and has since built an enthusiastic community of listeners still hungry for these sounds.

Goodrick’s renewed focus on original material marks a different chapter from the live cover performances that have kept him active in Arizona’s music scene. His solo songs sit at the intersection of emo, pop-punk, and acoustic singer-songwriter music, pairing familiar genre touchstones with where he is creatively today.

“It’s nostalgic, but it’s also adult. It’s about the way old songs, old relationships, and old versions of yourself can still follow you around,” Goodrick says.

Play “Songs I Still Skip” on YouTube

“A song can take you right back to a relationship, a friendship, a heartbreak, or a version of yourself you barely recognize anymore,” he says about the content within his music. “My music lives in that space between looking back and moving forward. It’s about old memories that still have teeth.”

That tension between looking back and moving forward also runs through “Try,” where nostalgia is filtered through the perspective Goodrick brings to those experiences now.

“I’m someone who stepped away from original music for a long time,” Goodrick says. “I’m now finally writing and releasing again from a more mature perspective.”

Dashboard Confessional, Mayday Parade, and Knox are among the artists Goodrick cites as inspirations, but his own songs are grounded in experiences and perspectives that are distinctly his.

Before his next release arrives, Arizona fans can catch Goodrick live at Cider Corps in Mesa on August 28 and Dark Sky Brewing in Flagstaff on August 30.