Review: Goodbye, Beautiful & Tara Craig – ‘Flood The Zone / Gilded Bastards’  

BY MIKE MINEO
OCTOBER 30, 2025

Two new singles from longtime collaborators Goodbye, Beautiful and Tara Craig captivate with their urgency and anthemic rock spirit. Released as a limited edition 7″ vinyl with all profits donated to The Trevor Project and the ACLU, “Flood The Zone” and “Gilded Bastards” succeed with their melodic prowess and intertwined thematic pursuits — both capturing darkening societal decay, driven by greed and immoral leadership, while differing in deliveries of empowerment and escapism, respectively.

“Flood The Zone” commences with a post-punk sturdiness, as clanging guitars and panting percussion invigorate. An anthemic rock disposition then takes hold, as Craig’s vocals recount a portrait of modern political tumults — “Nazi salutes, power suits, Trump and Elon in cahoots” — with infectious edge. Rather than wallowing in the darkness, though, the track inspires with its positive messaging and emphasis of personal power. “Tyrants can’t thrive, where there’s strong communities, people acting with joy,” Craig sings during the excitable hook. “They need our despair and anger to rise. Turn off the noise. Cut off their supply.” The title-bearing call to “flood the zone with irresistible joy” and overwhelm darkness plays with cathartic, enthralling immersion.

Similarly gripping though set within an angstier grit, “Gilded Bastards” compels with its frustrations on a current “hellscape” and pleas to “get me out of here.” Its escapist alt-rock tendencies are compelling throughout, particularly during the “shitting on golden thrones” segment — the guitars there reminding fondly of Johnny Marr in its moody maneuvering. “Gilded Bastards” proves riveting in its reckoning with a world full of greed, lies, and manipulation. Both tracks from this collaborative team excel with powerfully poignant thematic sentiments and a fervent rock entrancement.

Read review on Obscure Sound



 

Review: Tara Craig & Goodbye, Beautiful team up for defiant double singles 

review by Bee Delores, B-Sides & Badlands

Tara Craig and Goodbye, Beautiful electrify with their new collaborative singles. “Flood the Zone” and “Gilded Bastards” serve as necessary, barn-burning rallying cries for the exhausting times in which we find ourselves. As every single day feels like the end of the road, music remains a connective tissue to the human experience and often re-energizes us to dig deeper and let our voices be known. An earth-vibrating roar echoes throughout the two new tracks — one of hope and the other of fearless resistance. Together, they form a volatile mix of raw humanity caught in a wire trap, and all you want to really do is torch the earth.

“Flood the Zone” thumps with the pitter-patter of percussion and a guitar’s blistering moans. With her reedy vocals, Craig cuts down deep into her anger to excavate the hope she still carries around in her heart. The ravages of mankind won’t kill the compassion and empathy we so desperately need in 2025. Conversely, “Gilded Bastard” leans into the venomous, rage-filled anger coursing in her veins. It’s no time to sit idly by; it’s time to forge ahead for a better tomorrow.

The two new songs will be issued on limited edition 7″ vinyl and are available on Bandcamp, with all profits donated to The Trevor Project and The ACLU.

Link to review 

TARA CRAIG & GOODBYE, BEAUTIFUL: TWO SONGS, TWO ORGANIZATIONS, ONE FIGHT 

Opposing emotional states have always been fertile ground for artists—joy and sorrow, love and hate—the kind of dichotomies that produce work capable of resonating across audiences and inspiring new creative generations. Yet the collaboration between Tara Craig and Goodbye, Beautiful approaches this terrain from a distinctly utilitarian angle. These two new tracks function as sonic blueprints for transformation.  Read full review

🎶 Two New Songs | One Vinyl | Hope + Resistance
 — Out Now 

Hi friends,

I’m so excited to share something new and meaningful with you. Goodbye, Beautiful (Marco Arroyo) and I have released two new songs that feel like opposite sides of the same coin. 

At the start of the year, searching for light in heavy times, we wrote “Flood The Zone.” It’s rooted in unity and hope, carrying the spirit of an anthem—a reminder that togetherness and resilience can push back against chaos.

As the year unfolded and circumstances grew darker, we asked ourselves what the counterbalance might be. The answer came in “Gilded Bastards,” a raw, driving track that turns frustration into defiance. Where “Flood The Zone” uplifts, “Gilded Bastards” burns.

For me, stepping out of my folk-pop and singer-songwriter roots into high-energy rock was unexpected, but the urgency of the moment gave me something sharp to say. The result is bold, blistering, and unlike anything I’ve done before. Even though we wrote and recorded from different states, these songs still feel like they were created in the same room—immediate, natural, and alive. Together, they reveal the duality of hope and resistance.

I’m proud to share that they’re available today on Bandcamp as a limited edition 7" vinyl, with all profits donated to The Trevor Project and The ACLU.

✨ Order your copy now on Bandcamp 

Additionally, both “Flood The Zone” and “Gilded Bastards” are also streaming everywhere you listen to music— Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, and more.

Thank you for being here, for listening, and for standing with me in turning music into action.

With gratitude,
Tara