A family affair as well as a romantic one, Melbourne's
Partner Look was formed by sisters
Ambrin and
Anila Hasnain (of
Cool Sounds and
Lachlan Denton & Studio Magic, respectively) and their partners,
Dainis Lacey (
Cool Sounds) and
Lachlan Denton (
Studio Magic,
the Ocean Party). They took their name from the German expression Partnerlook, employed when two people dress alike. A collaborative project on all fronts, the group rotate lead singers while navigating touches of warm jangle pop, '70s soft rock, deadpan post-punk, '80s-evoking synthesizer pop, and more on their debut album,
By the Book. Acting almost as a theme song, the self-reflexive "Partner Look" -- "It can ease/Keep you sane/At least tease out the pain/Through the songs/Through the music/We don't have to be strong" -- gets things going with a subtle merger of many of the aforementioned styles, a dash of twang, and a group-sung chorus to boot. Later on, the soft-spoken, twee-inflected "Water" has one of the sisters relating to the element's natural flow. Elsewhere, "Right Here" borders on a classic rock turn with its refined unison guitar-keyboard riffs, and the catchy "Deutschland" (the Hasnain sisters hail from Germany) instead adds a dollop of late-period, mid-'80s post-punk to their palliative indie pop. Along with the driving and hooky "Geelong," it's an album highlight. While the LP-as-playlist qualities of the set tend toward the erratic, an overall warmth and sincerity run through
By the Book and, in addition to its easygoing melodicism and invitingly imperfect performances, keep it aligned to a classic, comforting indie pop. ~ Marcy Donelson