Courting - Guitar Music
PIAS
Courting's debut album 'Guitar Music' has peered over the horizon of the city skyline for what feels like an eternity at this stage, however the 23rd has come, and so has one of the finest debut projects of the year. Courting's takeover of the alternative landscape is here.
Opening up with Cosplay/Twin Cities and serene strings that meet their maker in glitch-driven beats, you may get the sense that an unhinged aesthetic has been firmly put in place - a little loose, a lot of fun! An unpredictable air hangs overhead. Chaotic entanglements are bound to be abundant over the course of the record. You get the feeling that a straight forward experience may not be on the cards - a few leftfield jabs are gonna be thrown. Tantalizing singles released in the run-up to Guitar Music include 'Tennis', 'Loaded', and 'Jumper'. All playing significant parts in seasoning the line - like bate on the best hook of the year that reeled us in. The bate tastes so good that you won't mind the hook hanging in your cheek - it's a worthy trade-off.
Courting don't hide behind a guaranteed style. The risks taken on Guitar Music display a sense of confidence and outright artistry. The band push the boat out far enough to distinguish their material pre and post debut - a noble undertaking that not many acts step out and into. Deranged at times, Guitar Music branches off course though it always sails home. Laced with shiny elements of pop and doused in a grimy layer of electronically - through guitar manipulation - glazed tincture, Guitar Music is home to a fascinating blend of musical demeanours - jittery flecks of calloused musicianship line the records halls. A smorgasbord of directions and distinct sounds leads Guitar Music into interesting territory. There’s plenty on show and still more to expand on in future endeavors if they decide to head down a similar route - post-punk-art-pop-electronics? - although, by the looks of it, they prefer to keep things in an ever-changing, forward moving state.
Noisy, nice, and melancholically humorous Courting pull on the strings of Britpop with tracks like Jumper and Famous and tie them tight into contemporary soundscapes. Wisps of carefree nostalgia seep from both tracks. "Though I've never liked the ending, I've always loved the start".
Courting bring a unique flare to the game and with it a significant heat. Blown out sounds frequent the bands palette - red-hot and washed in reverberant chaos. 'Uncanny Valley Forever', the bands longest song to date, opens the doors for ventures into extended material in every way you wish it would, could, and should. Feeling out a track and offering it cavernous space to breathe and twist and contort tends to lead to earth-moving output.
I hope David Berman, but more so David Beckham, is proud of these boys. Up there with the best of the year. In and around the rim of things that have hit home harder than the loss of a loved one.
