By Redacción LoffMusic | August 7, 2025
There are bands that disappear over the years. Others that repeat themselves without taking risks. And then there are Goo Goo Dolls: those who keep writing songs that touch your chest without asking permission.
With almost four decades behind them, the Buffalo band has nothing to prove, and yet they do it once again with ‘Not Goodbye (Close My Eyes)’, the new preview of their upcoming EP, Summer Anthem, which will be released on August 22nd via Warner Records. A song that doesn’t talk about leaving, but about how to accept that everything changes.
A ballad that is not afraid to look straight ahead
“It’s a song about accepting the inevitability of death,” says John Rzeznik, vocalist and soul of the band. It may sound raw, but Not Goodbye (Close My Eyes) is not a sad song: it’s an embrace of sorts. A lyric that looks at the passing of time not with fear, but with a mixture of lucidity and tenderness.
The production, by Gregg Wattenberg (John Legend, Santana) and Grant Michaels (Weezer, Jewel), wraps Rzeznik’s voice in a warm landscape of soft melodies and arrangements without excess. There are acoustic guitars, breathy vocal lines, and a chorus that keeps you spinning without warning.
Summer Anthem: 7 songs for an indoor season
The EP, which will include 7 unreleased tracks, arrives as a compact and direct work. From the title -SummerAnthem-to the focus of the project, Goo Goo Dolls seem to want to capture the fleetingness of the present: that moment in which everything feels eternal… even if you know it is not.
They had already advanced ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’, another song that revolves around the ephemeral, and now, with Not Goodbye (Close My Eyes), they consolidate a concept: there is beauty in saying goodbye if you know how to look.
A tour sold out… and experienced
In parallel, the band is in the midst of a U.S. tour with Dashboard Confessional, with over 300,000 tickets sold and nearly 50 dates confirmed. It’s not just a series of concerts: it’s a celebration of everything they stand for. The tour is an emotional review of their repertoire, from Iris to these new releases, with a fan base that has grown with them and has not stopped chanting their songs.
More than figures, history
Formed in 1986 by Rzeznik and Robby Takac, Goo Goo Dolls have survived fashions without betraying their essence. They have sold more than 15 million records, four Grammy nominations, and a record that few know about but speaks volumes: they are the band with the most Top 10 hits in the history of U.S. radio.
Not for nostalgia, but for consistency. For lyrics that connect. For melodies that stay with you long after they play.
✍️ LoffDice:
Not Goodbye (Close My Eyes) is not a goodbye. It’s a wink. A way to close your eyes and trust. Goo Goo Dolls are not saying goodbye: they are saying “we are here”, with a calmness and a clarity that only comes with age.
If Summer Anthem maintains this level, 2025 could be another crucial year in the history of a band that does not understand farewells. Only of new ways to stay
